Yesterday I had my first homeschool portfolio review. (In Maryland, if you're not under an umbrella group you have 2 reviews each year to make sure your kids are really learning something.) I was a little nervous, but the lady doing the review said everything looked great and she had no concerns! She was really friendly and even gave me a couple resource lists of ideas to use. I was fairly confident that Ethan's schooling is going well, but it feels good to have someone else say so!
Today we're having a big snowstorm, so of course the entire area has shut down. Our church meets in a school so the county makes the decision on weather cancellations. Yesterday--before there was a single flurry--the county cancelled all weekend activities, which means we can't have church tomorrow, even if the roads are totally clear! Good ol' Maryland. The grocery stores were all packed too, everyone stocking up for the coming apocalypse of snow. It's just funny because when I lived in Illinois we could have 3 feet of snow coming down and we'd still have to go to school. (I do remember school being closed for a "cold day" though--negative 30 windchill.) But despite the terror that seems to hit the masses here, the snow right now is gorgeous! I even went sledding with Ethan this morning...I hadn't done that in years! Ethan could stay out all day and never get tired of it. Right now he and Heath are still out shoveling (which is kind of pointless since it's coming down faster than they can scoop it up).
Tabitha, on the other hand, is terrified of the snow. She was completely bundled in snow gear so she couldn't even feel it, but if I tried to set her down instead of holding her, she'd scream like I was putting her down in hot lava. Jesse enjoyed the snow for a little bit, but he gets cold fast so he usually comes in pretty quick, much to Ethan's dismay.
Mmmm...such a nice day to be snowed in. Right now I'm in my snuggly sweat pants and ready to do some baking and hot-chocolate drinking. And then maybe I'll sit by the fire and read for a few hours while all the children play quietly and peacefully without disturbing me. (Well, I can dream anyway.) =)
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
The New Normal
Well, I am very excited to announce that we have been home for one month! And I'm even more excited to say that life is getting easier! I no longer feel like we're recovering from travel and adoption . . . I feel like we're settling into our "new normal."
I also realized a big OOPS in my posting. Thanksgiving Day was our one-month anniversary of adopting Tabitha, and I didn't mention it! On October 26th, we signed the papers and were given an official certificate saying that she's ours. Such a special thing to be thankful for this year. And the best part is, I'm finally coming out of the "fog" and actually feeling thankful!
This past week or so has been much better. Tabitha's sleep is improving, and her tantrums are diminishing. Not gone of course, but more like a typical 2-year-old rather than the outrageous ones we had been experiencing. We haven't had to go to any doctors appointments for her since the strep throat, and that's been a nice break. She seems to be settling into her new life pretty well, and I'm feeling more attached to her.
Tabitha's no longer afraid of Shadow and even tolerates her being around while we're eating (without attempting to kill her with dirty looks). The catheter is no big deal now--she even tries to help! She also plays with her dolls and isn't afraid of them anymore. (But if you try to tuck a furry friend or doll in to sleep with her she violently throws it on the floor. I guess she doesn't want to share her bed!) She holds her silverware like an American adult--we can't figure out how she learned that since Chinese adults usually use either chopsticks or spoons with a different handgrip. She also continues her favorite pasttime that we first discovered in China . . . she loves to stack papers into neat little piles. She also loves to write with pen and pencil on them, but heaven help anyone who tried to give her crayons and a coloring book. I guess that's seriously beneath her dignity! I still have little success on doing her hair, but I guess I'll keep learning. She's picking up new words and learning a little bit of sign language VERY quickly. She also falls asleep faster than any child I've ever seen (as long as she's not having a temper tantrum at bedtime). If we let her hold onto one of our fingers she'll be instantly asleep in less than 2 minutes. It's really quite precious. She definitely knows who Mommy and Daddy are now, and has started to prefer us to strangers. Yay!! She does do fine in the nursery though, so Heath and I were able to relax during the church service this past week.
Heath and I might even be able to go on a real date next weekend. (Tabitha doesn't have to be cathed at night, so if we go out at bedtime we can stay out late!) Ethan and Jesse are still treating her pretty well, but you can definitely tell they're all siblings now--complete with the squabbles and tattling and all.
So, as we move on with life, this will conclude my posts with the label "adoption." From now on, it'll just be LIFE!
I also realized a big OOPS in my posting. Thanksgiving Day was our one-month anniversary of adopting Tabitha, and I didn't mention it! On October 26th, we signed the papers and were given an official certificate saying that she's ours. Such a special thing to be thankful for this year. And the best part is, I'm finally coming out of the "fog" and actually feeling thankful!
This past week or so has been much better. Tabitha's sleep is improving, and her tantrums are diminishing. Not gone of course, but more like a typical 2-year-old rather than the outrageous ones we had been experiencing. We haven't had to go to any doctors appointments for her since the strep throat, and that's been a nice break. She seems to be settling into her new life pretty well, and I'm feeling more attached to her.
Tabitha's no longer afraid of Shadow and even tolerates her being around while we're eating (without attempting to kill her with dirty looks). The catheter is no big deal now--she even tries to help! She also plays with her dolls and isn't afraid of them anymore. (But if you try to tuck a furry friend or doll in to sleep with her she violently throws it on the floor. I guess she doesn't want to share her bed!) She holds her silverware like an American adult--we can't figure out how she learned that since Chinese adults usually use either chopsticks or spoons with a different handgrip. She also continues her favorite pasttime that we first discovered in China . . . she loves to stack papers into neat little piles. She also loves to write with pen and pencil on them, but heaven help anyone who tried to give her crayons and a coloring book. I guess that's seriously beneath her dignity! I still have little success on doing her hair, but I guess I'll keep learning. She's picking up new words and learning a little bit of sign language VERY quickly. She also falls asleep faster than any child I've ever seen (as long as she's not having a temper tantrum at bedtime). If we let her hold onto one of our fingers she'll be instantly asleep in less than 2 minutes. It's really quite precious. She definitely knows who Mommy and Daddy are now, and has started to prefer us to strangers. Yay!! She does do fine in the nursery though, so Heath and I were able to relax during the church service this past week.
Heath and I might even be able to go on a real date next weekend. (Tabitha doesn't have to be cathed at night, so if we go out at bedtime we can stay out late!) Ethan and Jesse are still treating her pretty well, but you can definitely tell they're all siblings now--complete with the squabbles and tattling and all.
So, as we move on with life, this will conclude my posts with the label "adoption." From now on, it'll just be LIFE!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving Week!
I've never been very good at refraining from complaining, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm going to change my outlook and list my top things to be thankful for this week.
#5 Hood College did an abridged version of Handel's Messiah. Heath and I had our first time out away from the kids last Sunday, but we're on a 3-hour schedule for Tabitha's catheter. Add travel time to that, and we were wondering if we'd get to see the whole concert. We did. :) Some day we'll supposedly be able to be away for more than a couple hours at a time.
#4 Tabitha enjoys taking medicine and likes yogurt. Why are we thankful for that? Well, after four days of a high fever and abdominal pain, we thought she had a bladder infection or something serious related to her special needs. So it was actually quite comical when it turned out to be just strep throat. Thus we add another antibiotic to her daily regimen and more yogurt to her diet.
#3 Tabitha's a good actress. So far when we've gone out to other people's houses, Tabitha has been mainly good, with only a few tantrums thrown in for good measure. So everyone says, "Aw, ain't she cute. What a nice little girl." Ha--if they only knew! (OK, OK, sarcasm aside . . . she IS a cute and sweet little girl. When she's not having a meltdown she's quite adorable. And today at church, while I was helping in her class, she was sharing with another little girl and gave her a kiss on the cheek. The litte girl proceeded to hit her and pull her hair. At that moment, I really did appreciate what a sweetie Tabitha is.)
#2 I'm good at faking sleep. Well, I don't really fake it, but if I'm slow enough to get out of bed when Tabitha wakes up, Heath usually beats me to it, and I can stay in bed. =) (Just kidding, honey. Thanks for being so awesome and letting me sleep.) The last two nights at precisely 11:30, Tabitha has thrown tantrums in her sleep! Now that takes talent! I think it may be night terrors. She was incosolable for a good 10 minutes or so, and then finally she calmed down and went back to sleep. This has only happened twice, but most nights she's still waking up crying a couple times. (We have our first post-adoption visit with the social worker coming up soon, and we plan to discuss these issues with her. And if any adoptors of toddlers have advice, please share!)
#1 Children eventually fall asleep. This evening we had our little family Advent story, sang a song together, sat around the lighted tree, and then made candy canes together. It was almost picture-perfect. But then Ethan decided to touch the candy in the pan to see if it was cool enough yet. It wasn't. Tabitha decided that not being allowed to eat the molten candy was reason enough for a meltdown that lasted until bedtime. Jesse was fine until he was told to get in bed. So, at 7:53 pm Ethan's crying over his burned finger, Jesse's crying over having to go to bed, Tabitha's crying because that's what Tabitha does, and Heath and I . . . well, we had to laugh lest we flee the house in despair! But now, all is quiet upstairs, and I can revel in this moment of peace.
So this week has been another tough one, and even included a couple other challenges I can't post about. BUT . . . I'm not giving up. Some days I've been tempted to, but God (with the help of Heath and others) keeps bringing me through to the next good day.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair. . . . We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (From 2 Corinthians 4; And if Paul could call his troubles "light and momentary", mine certainly are.)
#5 Hood College did an abridged version of Handel's Messiah. Heath and I had our first time out away from the kids last Sunday, but we're on a 3-hour schedule for Tabitha's catheter. Add travel time to that, and we were wondering if we'd get to see the whole concert. We did. :) Some day we'll supposedly be able to be away for more than a couple hours at a time.
#4 Tabitha enjoys taking medicine and likes yogurt. Why are we thankful for that? Well, after four days of a high fever and abdominal pain, we thought she had a bladder infection or something serious related to her special needs. So it was actually quite comical when it turned out to be just strep throat. Thus we add another antibiotic to her daily regimen and more yogurt to her diet.
#3 Tabitha's a good actress. So far when we've gone out to other people's houses, Tabitha has been mainly good, with only a few tantrums thrown in for good measure. So everyone says, "Aw, ain't she cute. What a nice little girl." Ha--if they only knew! (OK, OK, sarcasm aside . . . she IS a cute and sweet little girl. When she's not having a meltdown she's quite adorable. And today at church, while I was helping in her class, she was sharing with another little girl and gave her a kiss on the cheek. The litte girl proceeded to hit her and pull her hair. At that moment, I really did appreciate what a sweetie Tabitha is.)
#2 I'm good at faking sleep. Well, I don't really fake it, but if I'm slow enough to get out of bed when Tabitha wakes up, Heath usually beats me to it, and I can stay in bed. =) (Just kidding, honey. Thanks for being so awesome and letting me sleep.) The last two nights at precisely 11:30, Tabitha has thrown tantrums in her sleep! Now that takes talent! I think it may be night terrors. She was incosolable for a good 10 minutes or so, and then finally she calmed down and went back to sleep. This has only happened twice, but most nights she's still waking up crying a couple times. (We have our first post-adoption visit with the social worker coming up soon, and we plan to discuss these issues with her. And if any adoptors of toddlers have advice, please share!)
#1 Children eventually fall asleep. This evening we had our little family Advent story, sang a song together, sat around the lighted tree, and then made candy canes together. It was almost picture-perfect. But then Ethan decided to touch the candy in the pan to see if it was cool enough yet. It wasn't. Tabitha decided that not being allowed to eat the molten candy was reason enough for a meltdown that lasted until bedtime. Jesse was fine until he was told to get in bed. So, at 7:53 pm Ethan's crying over his burned finger, Jesse's crying over having to go to bed, Tabitha's crying because that's what Tabitha does, and Heath and I . . . well, we had to laugh lest we flee the house in despair! But now, all is quiet upstairs, and I can revel in this moment of peace.
So this week has been another tough one, and even included a couple other challenges I can't post about. BUT . . . I'm not giving up. Some days I've been tempted to, but God (with the help of Heath and others) keeps bringing me through to the next good day.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair. . . . We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (From 2 Corinthians 4; And if Paul could call his troubles "light and momentary", mine certainly are.)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back . . .
. . . Well, at least I hope it's not the opposite! I do think overall things are improving. We've had quite the week though. Once again Heath was home from work this week. Not by choice, but it is definitely a blessing that I've had him here! This week in Tabitha's life consisted of surgery, general anesthesia, 2 days of vomiting, serious constipation, learning intermittent catheritization, doctor-directed relief of the constipation (you can imagine what that's like), and a few amazing temper tantrums. BUT . . . I do still feel like we're moving forward. Here are more details of the week (don't read the rest of this if you're squeamish or just feel no need to know such things). =)
I posted last week that things were getting better, but then Monday came. We took Tabitha to JH for a scope surgery. The doctors are trying to figure out exactly what was completed in her surgeries in China and what they still need to do. Our agency's working on getting the surgery notes, but I guess it's a difficult process. Dr. Gearhart said she was born with common cloaca (you can look it up if you want details). They partially repaired it in China, but she'll still need more surgeries. To do the scope she was put under general anesthesia. I have no experience with this at all--I've never been hospitalized, never had a child go through anything major, I'm totally naive in this department. Everything went well with the surgery, and next they want to do an MRI and ultrasound to get a better idea of what's going on in there. The x-ray also showed that the bowels were not functioning properly and she was extremely constipated. All was fine until she woke up . . . she was just miserable, and she remained that way for the next 48 hours. She couldn't eat or drink without throwing up. She was up most of the next two nights, throwing up on us and just being all around miserable. She kept doubling over in pain, and we didn't know if it was from the surgery, the bladder being full, or the constipation. So many problems, so little experience. Tuesday I had another breakdown, throwing myself a pity party about how we're in way over our heads, and we can't handle all this. Once again, Heath remained calm and collected and handled everything very well--especially the nighttime stuff. He knows how pathetic I am in the middle of the night. =)
Oh, yes, I forgot the most important part. When we were at the hospital Monday, while she was under anesthesia, they taught us how to catherterize her. Up until this point, she'd been wearing a permanent catheter, which is not safe and can lead to lots of infections. So we have to do intermittent catheritization every 2-4 hours. It went fine while she was asleep, but once she was awake it was quite a different story. It took 2 of us to hold her down every time, and she would scream like she was being tortured. Great for bonding with her new parents I'm sure. So, for the first few days I was seriously thinking, "there's no way I can handle this. What will I do when Heath goes back to work? How will we ever go out in public again? Will we never be able to get a babysitter?" Oh yes, and while Tabitha was sick and miserable all our energy was going to her. The worst part was when Ethan said, "Mommy, I don't get to spend any time with you." Great. So now I have one child with medical problems too big for me, and two children whom I'm totally neglecting. I'm sure my outlook would've been better if I'd spent more (well--any) time with the Lord. But I didn't prioritize well, and my stress level proved that.
I share all this, not for pity, but in case someone reading it might be in a similar situation, and also to show that God is still good and will never abandon me, even when I'm not doing a very good job of seeking after Him. Later in the week, things started to improve, and God is showing me (once again) there's no need to feel hopeless--He will carry me through anything He brings into my life. I need to quit doubting, quit complaining, and just trust and walk forward.
Heath had been doing most of the catheritization, and Thursday he said for the first time she didn't fight him! She still cried, but no fighting. Then we had the brilliant idea of bribing her with skittles! So with candy in her mouth, she started to relax, and toned her screaming down to a half-hearted whine. Our plan may have backfired because after a few times with the candy, she started ASKING to be cathed, just to have candy! I can't even explain what a relief this was for me. The doctors had told us that this didn't hurt her, but that she'd complain for the first few days until she got used to it. I totally didn't believe them that it wasn't hurting her--I mean, she was SCREAMING! But when she decided it was worth it just so she could have candy, I realized the doctors were right, and we're really not torturing her. The past 2 days she doesn't fight or cry anymore, and it really is becoming no big deal. Praise the Lord for that!
Yesterday we gave her the medicine for the constipation. The timing was great--we gave it to her, and then the boys and I left for a field trip and were gone for the next eventful few hours. Poor Heath. You're building up those crowns in heaven, Darling. =)
She is no longer having stomach pain, and she lies down to be cathed whenever she feels full. She has totally done a 180 since earlier in the week. By the way, we've had some DELICIOUS meals brought to us this week from people at church. What a blessing that has been!
Besides the medical stuff, we've also had some progress in other areas. She's saying a couple more words and has been much more happy and smiley. However, she's also had two temper tantrums that were completely unfathomable to me. They came out of nowhere, and I have never seen a child so angry. I guess the frustrations of a toddler not being able to express herself and wanting autonomy are mulitiplied 10-fold for her. With virtually no words to communicate with, and all she's been through in her little life I'm trying to be understanding. But at the same time we can't give in and encourage her behavior. This morning Heath is working, so I'm on my own. I don't know if I poured the wrong cereal in Tabitha's bowl or what, but she started throwing a fit in her high chair. I removed her from the table to the couch, and this began AN ENTIRE HOUR of the worst tantrum I have ever been privy to. At this point, I didn't know what she wanted, but even if I did I certainly couldn't give it to her and reward this tantrum! She did FINALLY calm down and allow me to hold and comfort her. Then I sat her back at the table, and she ate her original cereal, drank her juice, and all was well. It's a total mystery to me what set her off or how she could possibly go on so long, but at least she did calm down eventually. So, it's now after 10 am, and I'm still in my pajamas. Great start to the day.
Tabitha will probably read this one day as a teenager, and never forgive me for posting all this. But it's quite therapeutic for me, and helps me be a better mom, so I hope she'll understand. =)
In other news, Ethan and Jesse had their annual check-ups this week too. (We've been at doctor's appointments 5 days out of the 14 we've been home.) Jesse got 4 shots--he was very brave. Ethan was very cooperative for once, but he had some trouble with the eye chart, so the doctor wants him to see an opthamologist. So, that makes 5 appointments scheduled for December so far (4 doctors, me to the dentist), and we're still waiting to be scheduled for Tabitha's MRI. Oh yes, and then we need to get all 3 kids to the dentist. So much fun. But like I said in another post, I will not complain . . . we have probably the best healthcare in the world and excellent insurance. We are blessed.
And speaking of blessings, last night I went to a ladies' night with a group of homeschool moms. It was such a refreshing and fun time! And tomorrow Heath and I get to go see the Messiah with Matt & Bekah, and we even have a babysitter. It'll be our first time out by ourselves! =) I am really looking forward to that.
As Thanksgiving approaches I will be remembering how very much I have to be thankful for. Despite all my belly aching, my life is really much easier than most of the world's, and I have Christ carrying me through the hard parts. I have wonderful friends and family, an awesome husband, and 3 amazing kids. I am so richly blessed.
I posted last week that things were getting better, but then Monday came. We took Tabitha to JH for a scope surgery. The doctors are trying to figure out exactly what was completed in her surgeries in China and what they still need to do. Our agency's working on getting the surgery notes, but I guess it's a difficult process. Dr. Gearhart said she was born with common cloaca (you can look it up if you want details). They partially repaired it in China, but she'll still need more surgeries. To do the scope she was put under general anesthesia. I have no experience with this at all--I've never been hospitalized, never had a child go through anything major, I'm totally naive in this department. Everything went well with the surgery, and next they want to do an MRI and ultrasound to get a better idea of what's going on in there. The x-ray also showed that the bowels were not functioning properly and she was extremely constipated. All was fine until she woke up . . . she was just miserable, and she remained that way for the next 48 hours. She couldn't eat or drink without throwing up. She was up most of the next two nights, throwing up on us and just being all around miserable. She kept doubling over in pain, and we didn't know if it was from the surgery, the bladder being full, or the constipation. So many problems, so little experience. Tuesday I had another breakdown, throwing myself a pity party about how we're in way over our heads, and we can't handle all this. Once again, Heath remained calm and collected and handled everything very well--especially the nighttime stuff. He knows how pathetic I am in the middle of the night. =)
Oh, yes, I forgot the most important part. When we were at the hospital Monday, while she was under anesthesia, they taught us how to catherterize her. Up until this point, she'd been wearing a permanent catheter, which is not safe and can lead to lots of infections. So we have to do intermittent catheritization every 2-4 hours. It went fine while she was asleep, but once she was awake it was quite a different story. It took 2 of us to hold her down every time, and she would scream like she was being tortured. Great for bonding with her new parents I'm sure. So, for the first few days I was seriously thinking, "there's no way I can handle this. What will I do when Heath goes back to work? How will we ever go out in public again? Will we never be able to get a babysitter?" Oh yes, and while Tabitha was sick and miserable all our energy was going to her. The worst part was when Ethan said, "Mommy, I don't get to spend any time with you." Great. So now I have one child with medical problems too big for me, and two children whom I'm totally neglecting. I'm sure my outlook would've been better if I'd spent more (well--any) time with the Lord. But I didn't prioritize well, and my stress level proved that.
I share all this, not for pity, but in case someone reading it might be in a similar situation, and also to show that God is still good and will never abandon me, even when I'm not doing a very good job of seeking after Him. Later in the week, things started to improve, and God is showing me (once again) there's no need to feel hopeless--He will carry me through anything He brings into my life. I need to quit doubting, quit complaining, and just trust and walk forward.
Heath had been doing most of the catheritization, and Thursday he said for the first time she didn't fight him! She still cried, but no fighting. Then we had the brilliant idea of bribing her with skittles! So with candy in her mouth, she started to relax, and toned her screaming down to a half-hearted whine. Our plan may have backfired because after a few times with the candy, she started ASKING to be cathed, just to have candy! I can't even explain what a relief this was for me. The doctors had told us that this didn't hurt her, but that she'd complain for the first few days until she got used to it. I totally didn't believe them that it wasn't hurting her--I mean, she was SCREAMING! But when she decided it was worth it just so she could have candy, I realized the doctors were right, and we're really not torturing her. The past 2 days she doesn't fight or cry anymore, and it really is becoming no big deal. Praise the Lord for that!
Yesterday we gave her the medicine for the constipation. The timing was great--we gave it to her, and then the boys and I left for a field trip and were gone for the next eventful few hours. Poor Heath. You're building up those crowns in heaven, Darling. =)
She is no longer having stomach pain, and she lies down to be cathed whenever she feels full. She has totally done a 180 since earlier in the week. By the way, we've had some DELICIOUS meals brought to us this week from people at church. What a blessing that has been!
Besides the medical stuff, we've also had some progress in other areas. She's saying a couple more words and has been much more happy and smiley. However, she's also had two temper tantrums that were completely unfathomable to me. They came out of nowhere, and I have never seen a child so angry. I guess the frustrations of a toddler not being able to express herself and wanting autonomy are mulitiplied 10-fold for her. With virtually no words to communicate with, and all she's been through in her little life I'm trying to be understanding. But at the same time we can't give in and encourage her behavior. This morning Heath is working, so I'm on my own. I don't know if I poured the wrong cereal in Tabitha's bowl or what, but she started throwing a fit in her high chair. I removed her from the table to the couch, and this began AN ENTIRE HOUR of the worst tantrum I have ever been privy to. At this point, I didn't know what she wanted, but even if I did I certainly couldn't give it to her and reward this tantrum! She did FINALLY calm down and allow me to hold and comfort her. Then I sat her back at the table, and she ate her original cereal, drank her juice, and all was well. It's a total mystery to me what set her off or how she could possibly go on so long, but at least she did calm down eventually. So, it's now after 10 am, and I'm still in my pajamas. Great start to the day.
Tabitha will probably read this one day as a teenager, and never forgive me for posting all this. But it's quite therapeutic for me, and helps me be a better mom, so I hope she'll understand. =)
In other news, Ethan and Jesse had their annual check-ups this week too. (We've been at doctor's appointments 5 days out of the 14 we've been home.) Jesse got 4 shots--he was very brave. Ethan was very cooperative for once, but he had some trouble with the eye chart, so the doctor wants him to see an opthamologist. So, that makes 5 appointments scheduled for December so far (4 doctors, me to the dentist), and we're still waiting to be scheduled for Tabitha's MRI. Oh yes, and then we need to get all 3 kids to the dentist. So much fun. But like I said in another post, I will not complain . . . we have probably the best healthcare in the world and excellent insurance. We are blessed.
And speaking of blessings, last night I went to a ladies' night with a group of homeschool moms. It was such a refreshing and fun time! And tomorrow Heath and I get to go see the Messiah with Matt & Bekah, and we even have a babysitter. It'll be our first time out by ourselves! =) I am really looking forward to that.
As Thanksgiving approaches I will be remembering how very much I have to be thankful for. Despite all my belly aching, my life is really much easier than most of the world's, and I have Christ carrying me through the hard parts. I have wonderful friends and family, an awesome husband, and 3 amazing kids. I am so richly blessed.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Our First Week
Well, we've been home for a full week now. Hard to believe! A lot has gone on this week, and it's been tiring, but I think we're going to make it. Yesterday was the first day I really thought "I can do this!" We're all sleeping well now, everyone's healthy, and things are settling into a somewhat normal routine. We even got in 3 days of school for Ethan. Heath was home all week, which was probably the deciding factor between sanity and my going off the deep end. He's working today, and I think I'm finally to the point where I can survive a day on my own.
Tabitha's come a long way already. Here are some of the areas she's already made huge progress:
The Dog--When Tabitha first saw Shadow her face was more terrified than anything I'd ever seen! For the first couple days she would scream "Mei you! Mei you!" (no, no) whenever she saw Shadow. But soon the fear lessened, and it became more of a game. She'd still scream "mei you", but then she'd laugh. Yesterday she even pet Shadow and gave her a kiss! She still glares at her and says "mei you" if the dog dares come near her while she's eating though. Tabitha's also no longer afraid of dolls! In fact, she now carries her baby doll around the house with her, feeds her a bottle, and tucks her into bed. She did the same thing with a Curious George animal that has huge eyes--so I guess she's over that fear!
Sleep--When we were in China Tabitha slept beautifully. Went right to sleep, slept through anything for a good 11 hours or so. So we thought we had it made. But when we got home that all changed. She was up every couple of hours the first couple nights, and sometimes wouldn't go back to sleep for a long time. But the last two nights she's only woken up twice, and went right back to sleep. And one of those times was because she fell out of her bed, so we can't blame her for that. :) It's amazing how much better I feel when I get a good night's sleep too!
Language--Tabitha seems to understand most of what we tell her, based on context. And she definitely understands the words for eat, change your diaper, go night-night, and some others, and knows her name. She's learning fast! She's starting to mimic us too. So far, we've heard her say: no, uh-oh, mama, ow, Mommy, and yeah. Not bad for a week!
Medical--She's been to the doctor three days in a row, which she was none too happy about. But Heath and I are SO happy with the doctors helping her. Dr. Gearhart and Dr. Trinity at Johns Hopkins are awesome! They saw her Tuesday, were so good with her and made us feel completely comfortable too. They scheduled her to come back on Monday to do a scope surgery (I forget the technical name) to find out exactly what has been done during her surgeries in China, and what needs to be done next. And they'll also teach us how to catheterize her every few hours so she doesn't have to wear the tube all the time. They totally put us at ease about everything, and I am SO thankful to have such great doctors, and so thankful for the friends who referred us there!
Emotional--Well, I think things are going quite well for everyone. I did have a breakdown last Sunday. I was sick again, and overwhelmed by everything, still jetlagged, and not feeling any connection with Tabitha. Thank the Lord for my wonderful husband who took care of the kids and me! The rest of the week has been better, and I feel hopeful now. The kids are all adjusting well to each other, and the boys really enjoy Tabitha and take good care of her. I'm starting to feel like I'm really her mom, and Tabitha's behavior has been improving too. She's quite the drama queen when she doesn't get her way, but I think she's starting to realize that tantrums/hitting/biting don't work, and she's learning to accept "no" a little better--well, as much as can be expected at the age of 2. She's got quite the strong personality, which is challenging, but she also keeps us all entertained with her adorable little expressions and the funny things she does.
So that's how things are going at the Runkles' house. We have so much to be thankful for and are looking forward to what God has in store for our lives as a family of 5.
Tabitha's come a long way already. Here are some of the areas she's already made huge progress:
The Dog--When Tabitha first saw Shadow her face was more terrified than anything I'd ever seen! For the first couple days she would scream "Mei you! Mei you!" (no, no) whenever she saw Shadow. But soon the fear lessened, and it became more of a game. She'd still scream "mei you", but then she'd laugh. Yesterday she even pet Shadow and gave her a kiss! She still glares at her and says "mei you" if the dog dares come near her while she's eating though. Tabitha's also no longer afraid of dolls! In fact, she now carries her baby doll around the house with her, feeds her a bottle, and tucks her into bed. She did the same thing with a Curious George animal that has huge eyes--so I guess she's over that fear!
Sleep--When we were in China Tabitha slept beautifully. Went right to sleep, slept through anything for a good 11 hours or so. So we thought we had it made. But when we got home that all changed. She was up every couple of hours the first couple nights, and sometimes wouldn't go back to sleep for a long time. But the last two nights she's only woken up twice, and went right back to sleep. And one of those times was because she fell out of her bed, so we can't blame her for that. :) It's amazing how much better I feel when I get a good night's sleep too!
Language--Tabitha seems to understand most of what we tell her, based on context. And she definitely understands the words for eat, change your diaper, go night-night, and some others, and knows her name. She's learning fast! She's starting to mimic us too. So far, we've heard her say: no, uh-oh, mama, ow, Mommy, and yeah. Not bad for a week!
Medical--She's been to the doctor three days in a row, which she was none too happy about. But Heath and I are SO happy with the doctors helping her. Dr. Gearhart and Dr. Trinity at Johns Hopkins are awesome! They saw her Tuesday, were so good with her and made us feel completely comfortable too. They scheduled her to come back on Monday to do a scope surgery (I forget the technical name) to find out exactly what has been done during her surgeries in China, and what needs to be done next. And they'll also teach us how to catheterize her every few hours so she doesn't have to wear the tube all the time. They totally put us at ease about everything, and I am SO thankful to have such great doctors, and so thankful for the friends who referred us there!
Emotional--Well, I think things are going quite well for everyone. I did have a breakdown last Sunday. I was sick again, and overwhelmed by everything, still jetlagged, and not feeling any connection with Tabitha. Thank the Lord for my wonderful husband who took care of the kids and me! The rest of the week has been better, and I feel hopeful now. The kids are all adjusting well to each other, and the boys really enjoy Tabitha and take good care of her. I'm starting to feel like I'm really her mom, and Tabitha's behavior has been improving too. She's quite the drama queen when she doesn't get her way, but I think she's starting to realize that tantrums/hitting/biting don't work, and she's learning to accept "no" a little better--well, as much as can be expected at the age of 2. She's got quite the strong personality, which is challenging, but she also keeps us all entertained with her adorable little expressions and the funny things she does.
So that's how things are going at the Runkles' house. We have so much to be thankful for and are looking forward to what God has in store for our lives as a family of 5.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The rest of the story . . .
The two things I didn't post from China were about Jesse being sick and our hospital experience. Probably just being paranoid, but I didn't want to risk them tracking us down for quarrantine or offending anyone with my description of the hospital. So here are the stories.
The Jesse Story
10/20/09 Email to my family:
Well, 24 hours from now we'll be arriving at the airport, ready to fly to
China! I wanted to ask you all for even more prayer . . . last night
Jesse woke up with a horrible cough/wheezing, so bad we had to use the
nebulizer. He's better today, but still coughing. He has allergies, and
this happens to him a lot, so I'm not worried about his health. But we
ARE very worried about the flight. Not only do we not want people to
think that he'll make them sick, but even worse, China is
quarrantining--for 7 days--people with fevers or flu symptoms (because of
the swineflu). The quarrantine has been my biggest fear about the trip,
and now to have Jesse get this cough the day before we leave is horrible.
He has an appointment with the allergist this afternoon. I'm hoping to
get a letter from her saying that it's allergies, so no one will think we
need to be quarrantined. I'm also planning to get a cough suppressant
for him, but all the ones I've found so far for kids are large bottles
which can't be carried on. Please pray that we can get this figured out,
that God would heal him totally TODAY, and that we would not be
quarrantined for any reason. (Even if we're healthy there are rumors
that they quarrantine people who are NEAR sick people too; we just have
no way to know what to expect.) And pray for Heath and me to have peace;
we were both feeling pretty anxious last night.
Thanks so much. I probably won't have an update until after we're there,
but thanks for your continued prayers. We need and appreciate it so
much.
10/21/09 Email to my family:
Well, the bad news is I'm writing this email from Maryland. The good news is we're avoiding quarrantine. This morning we made the decision when Jesse threw up in the van on the way to the airport. Turns out it wasn't allergies, but the good ol' flu. Since I've been to Beijing 3 times, I told Heath he and the others should go and Jesse and I would catch up when he's better. So now we're scheduled to fly out Friday, exactly 48 hours later than planned. That'll get us to Beijing in time to spend one night there, and then we'll all fly onto Xian to get Tabitha. It won't affect the adoption schedule, but it may affect my ability to get my Peking Duck dinner!!
All last night I kept waking up in a panic, thinking about all the "what if's." And this morning was all the "why's". I don't understand why God would say no to our prayer for good health. I mean, Jesse hasn't been sick in several months--why this week? Why this day? Even a day earlier, and we'd probably have been fine to travel. I don't understand at all. But the amazing thing, and the thing that proves to me that prayer does make a difference, is that I'm not a total basket case. Normally I would be ballistic, angry and very upset. I don't handle it well when things don't go according to my plan. I'd been praying for good attitudes whatever challenges we ran into--I just didn't think we'd run into them before we even left! But I guess the prayer has worked. No, God didn't heal Jesse in time for the flight, but He has definitely been working in my heart, and I'm actually at peace with this decision. I guess I'm learning, ever so slowly, that I am NOT in control--no matter how well-planned I may be. God is in control, and I need to surrender that need for control to Him. If nothing else, I guess learning this lesson may be why He allowed this to happen.
Please do continue to pray that Jesse and I get/stay healthy, as well as the other 4 who are on the plane right now. Thanks again.
Love, Erin
The Hospital Story
(the original version that I wrote but didn't post)
By 4:00 we decided we needed to get help. We left the kids with Mom again. They worked on their AWANA verses, "wrote" in their journals, and watched a movie. We took Tabitha down, and exchanged more money to be prepared for a doctor. The assistant manager here speaks English amazingly well, and he was a big help. He sent us to the hotel clinic first, but there was nothing they could do for her there. They said to take her to the hospital. By this time, she was crying, and she wanted to walk because holding her seemed to hurt more, no matter what positions we tried. But soon, she couldn't even walk without pain, so we had to carry her. We were planning to take her to a Western hospital that Kelly R had recommended, but our guide said to meet her at the Children's Hospital, which is very close to here. Not knowing any better, we took her advice. The asst manager got us a taxi, and we headed off. (By the way, once you're off the island, the traffic and insane driving habits are about the same as the other places we've been in China.) When the driver stopped the car, and said "here it is," we were thinking . . . "Where?" He had dropped us off in front of a building that had no doors. It was a courtyard with a skylight roof. There were rows of colorful chairs and various parents and children sitting around. We knew Helen wouldn't be there for awhile because she lives an hour away. Tabitha was crying terribly by this point. Heath was holding her in a standing position, trying to take her weight without putting any pressure on anything. I was trying to communicate with the check-in people. She had us fill out a card, and then said go to the 3rd floor. So we went to the third floor (took awhile because the first stair case was locked half way up), and no one was there. Just a big empty, dirty room, with benches. So we went down to the 2nd floor, thinking maybe we had misunderstood. Here someone saw us looking lost and pointed to a counter. We stood there, waiting for help, but lines don't really exist in China, so there were about 8 other ladies shoving papers to the worker, and we didn't know what to do. I was about to give up and say, let's just go to the Western Hospital with or without our guide (no cell phone to get ahold of her with). But just then someone said, Hello, I'm Kelly--Helen's friend. Praise the Lord. I've never been so relieved. She at least figured out where we needed to be. There was a different section of the 3rd floor, where there was indeed a doctor. There were not different rooms or anything, just cubicles, made of ugly green plastic, and everything was dirty. Kelly explained the problem to the doctor, and he looked confused. They talked for awhile, but didn't seem to make any progress. The doctor scribbled something on what looked like a prescription pad, and sent us out. We went back to where we started to deal with the cashier. OK, our daughter is screaming in pain, and you're making us deal with money first! Unbelieveable. Kelly had a big argument with the cashier, and then went off somewhere else. She came back saying that we needed a deposit of 3,000 yuan (roughly $400+ dollars). We didn't have that much money with us, and they wouldn't accept our credit card--only AmEx. By this time, Helen arrived. She put the deposit on her own credit card. Then they took us to a different section of the hospital. This part was at least fully indoors, but so old, dirty, scary looking. We went into a room, where the doctor looked at the catheter and tried to figure out what to do. Not having her full medical history, he wasn't sure if he should just remove the catheter and put in a new one or not. Helen and Kelly were yelling at the doctors about their lack of urgency. She came back in the room and told us, "Now they're working!" Even if we could speak Chinese, having her help advocating for us was invaluable! Helen called Janet, who called her orphanage worker, who got the doctor's #, and finally the two doctors talked and determined it was OK to put a new catheter in. I don't know why this took an hour. Fortunately, Tabitha had fallen asleep and was calm. Heath had his hand on her back, and he said that when the doctor came in, her heart just started pounding. The poor little girl knows that pain is coming when she sees a doctor. Finally he said it was OK to do the catheter. We all had to hold her down, but as soon as it was done, the urine came right out, and she was immediately out of pain. She calmed down, and wanted to eat and drink. We had to wait awhile longer while Helen got her deposit money back. The total bill was 110 yuan, less than $20. Cheap, but I'll take America's expensive healthcare anytime.
If we ever need medical help again, we will definitely take Kelly's advice and go to the Western clinic. And yet I'm glad for this experience. I am SO thankful for the healthcare we have in the States. I mean, looking around at these poor children and their parents, whose only hope is this dingy, dirty hospital. . . it breaks my heart. We can walk into a doctor's office at home, hand over an insurance card, and have a peaceful, private, safe procedure done, and go home. These children have only this hospital, and their parents don't get to go home in a week to get good care. This is all they have. I will never complain again about sitting in a waiting room too long, or having a crabby nurse check my kids' weights. I dont' know why God allowed this to happen to our little girl, but I think learning firsthand what life could've been for Tabitha is enough. I am SO thankful that we will be taking her home in less than a week, and that she will never have to deal with this kind of situation again.
So, there's the rest of the story. Now, I'm done blogging for awhile! Also, I'll be posting our pictures on snapfish. If you'd like the link, please send me an email and let me know. Thanks again for journeying with us!
The Jesse Story
10/20/09 Email to my family:
Well, 24 hours from now we'll be arriving at the airport, ready to fly to
China! I wanted to ask you all for even more prayer . . . last night
Jesse woke up with a horrible cough/wheezing, so bad we had to use the
nebulizer. He's better today, but still coughing. He has allergies, and
this happens to him a lot, so I'm not worried about his health. But we
ARE very worried about the flight. Not only do we not want people to
think that he'll make them sick, but even worse, China is
quarrantining--for 7 days--people with fevers or flu symptoms (because of
the swineflu). The quarrantine has been my biggest fear about the trip,
and now to have Jesse get this cough the day before we leave is horrible.
He has an appointment with the allergist this afternoon. I'm hoping to
get a letter from her saying that it's allergies, so no one will think we
need to be quarrantined. I'm also planning to get a cough suppressant
for him, but all the ones I've found so far for kids are large bottles
which can't be carried on. Please pray that we can get this figured out,
that God would heal him totally TODAY, and that we would not be
quarrantined for any reason. (Even if we're healthy there are rumors
that they quarrantine people who are NEAR sick people too; we just have
no way to know what to expect.) And pray for Heath and me to have peace;
we were both feeling pretty anxious last night.
Thanks so much. I probably won't have an update until after we're there,
but thanks for your continued prayers. We need and appreciate it so
much.
10/21/09 Email to my family:
Well, the bad news is I'm writing this email from Maryland. The good news is we're avoiding quarrantine. This morning we made the decision when Jesse threw up in the van on the way to the airport. Turns out it wasn't allergies, but the good ol' flu. Since I've been to Beijing 3 times, I told Heath he and the others should go and Jesse and I would catch up when he's better. So now we're scheduled to fly out Friday, exactly 48 hours later than planned. That'll get us to Beijing in time to spend one night there, and then we'll all fly onto Xian to get Tabitha. It won't affect the adoption schedule, but it may affect my ability to get my Peking Duck dinner!!
All last night I kept waking up in a panic, thinking about all the "what if's." And this morning was all the "why's". I don't understand why God would say no to our prayer for good health. I mean, Jesse hasn't been sick in several months--why this week? Why this day? Even a day earlier, and we'd probably have been fine to travel. I don't understand at all. But the amazing thing, and the thing that proves to me that prayer does make a difference, is that I'm not a total basket case. Normally I would be ballistic, angry and very upset. I don't handle it well when things don't go according to my plan. I'd been praying for good attitudes whatever challenges we ran into--I just didn't think we'd run into them before we even left! But I guess the prayer has worked. No, God didn't heal Jesse in time for the flight, but He has definitely been working in my heart, and I'm actually at peace with this decision. I guess I'm learning, ever so slowly, that I am NOT in control--no matter how well-planned I may be. God is in control, and I need to surrender that need for control to Him. If nothing else, I guess learning this lesson may be why He allowed this to happen.
Please do continue to pray that Jesse and I get/stay healthy, as well as the other 4 who are on the plane right now. Thanks again.
Love, Erin
The Hospital Story
(the original version that I wrote but didn't post)
By 4:00 we decided we needed to get help. We left the kids with Mom again. They worked on their AWANA verses, "wrote" in their journals, and watched a movie. We took Tabitha down, and exchanged more money to be prepared for a doctor. The assistant manager here speaks English amazingly well, and he was a big help. He sent us to the hotel clinic first, but there was nothing they could do for her there. They said to take her to the hospital. By this time, she was crying, and she wanted to walk because holding her seemed to hurt more, no matter what positions we tried. But soon, she couldn't even walk without pain, so we had to carry her. We were planning to take her to a Western hospital that Kelly R had recommended, but our guide said to meet her at the Children's Hospital, which is very close to here. Not knowing any better, we took her advice. The asst manager got us a taxi, and we headed off. (By the way, once you're off the island, the traffic and insane driving habits are about the same as the other places we've been in China.) When the driver stopped the car, and said "here it is," we were thinking . . . "Where?" He had dropped us off in front of a building that had no doors. It was a courtyard with a skylight roof. There were rows of colorful chairs and various parents and children sitting around. We knew Helen wouldn't be there for awhile because she lives an hour away. Tabitha was crying terribly by this point. Heath was holding her in a standing position, trying to take her weight without putting any pressure on anything. I was trying to communicate with the check-in people. She had us fill out a card, and then said go to the 3rd floor. So we went to the third floor (took awhile because the first stair case was locked half way up), and no one was there. Just a big empty, dirty room, with benches. So we went down to the 2nd floor, thinking maybe we had misunderstood. Here someone saw us looking lost and pointed to a counter. We stood there, waiting for help, but lines don't really exist in China, so there were about 8 other ladies shoving papers to the worker, and we didn't know what to do. I was about to give up and say, let's just go to the Western Hospital with or without our guide (no cell phone to get ahold of her with). But just then someone said, Hello, I'm Kelly--Helen's friend. Praise the Lord. I've never been so relieved. She at least figured out where we needed to be. There was a different section of the 3rd floor, where there was indeed a doctor. There were not different rooms or anything, just cubicles, made of ugly green plastic, and everything was dirty. Kelly explained the problem to the doctor, and he looked confused. They talked for awhile, but didn't seem to make any progress. The doctor scribbled something on what looked like a prescription pad, and sent us out. We went back to where we started to deal with the cashier. OK, our daughter is screaming in pain, and you're making us deal with money first! Unbelieveable. Kelly had a big argument with the cashier, and then went off somewhere else. She came back saying that we needed a deposit of 3,000 yuan (roughly $400+ dollars). We didn't have that much money with us, and they wouldn't accept our credit card--only AmEx. By this time, Helen arrived. She put the deposit on her own credit card. Then they took us to a different section of the hospital. This part was at least fully indoors, but so old, dirty, scary looking. We went into a room, where the doctor looked at the catheter and tried to figure out what to do. Not having her full medical history, he wasn't sure if he should just remove the catheter and put in a new one or not. Helen and Kelly were yelling at the doctors about their lack of urgency. She came back in the room and told us, "Now they're working!" Even if we could speak Chinese, having her help advocating for us was invaluable! Helen called Janet, who called her orphanage worker, who got the doctor's #, and finally the two doctors talked and determined it was OK to put a new catheter in. I don't know why this took an hour. Fortunately, Tabitha had fallen asleep and was calm. Heath had his hand on her back, and he said that when the doctor came in, her heart just started pounding. The poor little girl knows that pain is coming when she sees a doctor. Finally he said it was OK to do the catheter. We all had to hold her down, but as soon as it was done, the urine came right out, and she was immediately out of pain. She calmed down, and wanted to eat and drink. We had to wait awhile longer while Helen got her deposit money back. The total bill was 110 yuan, less than $20. Cheap, but I'll take America's expensive healthcare anytime.
If we ever need medical help again, we will definitely take Kelly's advice and go to the Western clinic. And yet I'm glad for this experience. I am SO thankful for the healthcare we have in the States. I mean, looking around at these poor children and their parents, whose only hope is this dingy, dirty hospital. . . it breaks my heart. We can walk into a doctor's office at home, hand over an insurance card, and have a peaceful, private, safe procedure done, and go home. These children have only this hospital, and their parents don't get to go home in a week to get good care. This is all they have. I will never complain again about sitting in a waiting room too long, or having a crabby nurse check my kids' weights. I dont' know why God allowed this to happen to our little girl, but I think learning firsthand what life could've been for Tabitha is enough. I am SO thankful that we will be taking her home in less than a week, and that she will never have to deal with this kind of situation again.
So, there's the rest of the story. Now, I'm done blogging for awhile! Also, I'll be posting our pictures on snapfish. If you'd like the link, please send me an email and let me know. Thanks again for journeying with us!
The Homecoming
Well, I'm functioning a little better now. Jesse and Tabitha are both taking naps, so now's my chance to fill in the couple of stories I didn't post from China.
But first, I wanted to record the grand total on our "baby tickers". If you've noticed them on the left side of the blog, they've counted the days we've been waiting. Now that we're on our first day home as a family, I'll turn those off and record the totals. Since we first saw little Wang Xin Fang's referral picture and said "Yes, we want her," it's been 7 months 3 weeks and 1 day. Since we first started the adoption process it's been 1 year 10 months 2 weeks and 2 days. The wait is over, and our new life is beginning!
The end of our trip was fine, though I was tired and eager to be home. I did get better before we had to travel--thank the Lord I wasn't sick on the airplanes! We flew out of Guangzhou on Thursday night, back to Beijing. A shuttle bus took us to the airport hotel. This wasn't a nice one like the others, but it was OK for sleeping. They didn't have cribs there, so Tabitha slept in the bed for the first time. She did fine with that, and she's in a toddler bed here which she likes. Oh, but when we got to the hotel they couldn't find our reservation! Here it is 11 at night, with 7 tired cranky people, and we have no reservation?! But they did find it eventually; not sure what the problem was, but we were then able to go to sleep. We had breakfast there, and then headed back to the airport.
We got there 2 hours early and used every minute of it! The United staff was very helpful in getting us seats together, and even leaving an empty one in the middle of our row so we'd have extra room. Then we went through all the various stations. (By the way, we didn't know this ahead of time, but they were scanning body temperatures on the way out of the country too--glad no one was sick!) We got to our gate when boarding had just started. I wish this next part wasn't my final experience in China, but it is what it is. You can't drink the tap water in China, so you have to buy bottled water everywhere you go. That's fine, except at the airport because you can't bring liquids through security. So we finally made it through the hour and a half process and arrived at the gate. Heath ran to a store really quickly to buy some drinks, so we could have something right away instead of waiting until they served drinks on the plane. He bought 4 cans of pop and a bottle of water. (Remember, our water bottles had been empty and Tabitha's supposed to be drinking 2 liters a day.) So the boys start drinking one can of pop, and a lady comes over to rush us to board (even though the flight doesn't leave for another 20 minutes at least.) Then she says they can't bring the drink with them, so they take another chug and then have to throw it away. I assumed that was because they didn't want it to spill while we were finding our seats and all. Fine. I put the other drinks on top of everything else in one of the bags, and we start down the jetway. For the first time ever in my whole life, anywhere I've ever travelled, they were doing a bag check on the jetway! So we start walking onto the plane, and they have some tables set up and are going through everyone's carry-ons. (Well, they never looked through Mom's wheeled suitcase, but all our other bags, they did.) And what was on top of mine? The drinks. The water for my dehydrated self and my medically-instructed-to-drink-lots-of-water 2 year old. And the guy tells me I can't bring them on the plane. I was like "What do you mean? These are our drinks that we bought 2 minutes ago on THIS side of security specifically to drink on this plane." I pointed to Tabitha, and said "The baby needs water!" He didn't speak English, but he just kept saying "No, no, no" in a calm, polite, make-me-want-to-kill-you way. Now, granted, this was not his fault--I'm sure he was just doing as he had been told. But unforunately, even though he didn't understand English, he definitely understood my feelings about the matter. I was quite the "obnoxious American" I'm sure. And not a great example of kindness or self control. Finally, I gave up and stormed onto the plane in a huff. I am still very irritated about it, though I have repented of my poor response. I mean, what do they think we did--bought drinks down the hall and quickly built a bomb to hide inside them? Or were they afraid we might save the airline money by not drinking as much of the beverages they'd be serving? And if they're going to invent random ludicrous rules, a little warning would be nice. All the signs were in English, and I am sure there was nothing saying you couldn't bring drinks on the plane. I have to stop writing about it now, or I'll go ballistic again.
Anyway, after I finished my adult tantrum the flight to Tokyo was fine. When we landed, our connecting flight was only 40 minutes from departure, and for some reason Tokyo made everyone go through security before getting on the next flight! I guess they too must think we're building bombs to hide in our airplane beverage containers. We did make it onto the flight, just barely. We were in the very back of the plane, and had one extra seat, which was very helpful. The kids all slept about 5 hours or so, and the flight went fine. Tabitha woke up very happy and stayed that way, which was great! Ethan and Jesse weren't quite so happy about waking up, but they did OK.
We went through immigration with no problem, so Tabitha is now officially a US citizen!
Heath's Dad and Aunt Carolyn (Amy's mom) met us at the airport, with roses for the ladies, a balloon for Tabitha, and chocolates for the guys. When we stopped at Heath's parents' to drop them off and pick up Shadow, Tabitha was quite afraid of all the dogs (4 total). In the van, Shadow (our 70-pound lab/boxer mix) sat in the back with Ethan, Tabitha and Jesse in the middle row. All was well until I looked back and saw Shadow licking Tabitha's knee. She had snuck up to the middle row somehow. Tabitha was laughing, so I thought she'd decided Shadow was OK. But all of a sudden, she looked down and realized what was tickling her knee and let out the most terrified scream ever! She was SO upset! Other than that, she stayed very happy and kept practicing her new favorite English word. "Uh-oh." She's learned that and the word "no" already. =)
It was SO nice to get home, even if it was only 50 degrees in here. Thank the Lord for protecing our house while we were gone. No problems, and soon the heat was on, and we were enjoying our own home and our endless supply of tap water! =)
Today, Tabitha's gotten a little better with Shadow. She still panics when she comes around, but as long as we are touching or holding her, she calms down. I think within a few more days she might even like her! Ethan and Tabitha and I played outside while Heath and Jesse bought groceries. Tabitha loved raking up leaves with Ethan and copying everything he did! It was so cute!
Now I just need to continue plowing through the laundry, and then read the mail and email that have piled up, which will probably take the rest of the week. Then we'll be ready for life to resume. :)
Well, I didn't mean for this post to be so long. I'll go ahead and post the missing stories I promised now.
But first, I wanted to record the grand total on our "baby tickers". If you've noticed them on the left side of the blog, they've counted the days we've been waiting. Now that we're on our first day home as a family, I'll turn those off and record the totals. Since we first saw little Wang Xin Fang's referral picture and said "Yes, we want her," it's been 7 months 3 weeks and 1 day. Since we first started the adoption process it's been 1 year 10 months 2 weeks and 2 days. The wait is over, and our new life is beginning!
The end of our trip was fine, though I was tired and eager to be home. I did get better before we had to travel--thank the Lord I wasn't sick on the airplanes! We flew out of Guangzhou on Thursday night, back to Beijing. A shuttle bus took us to the airport hotel. This wasn't a nice one like the others, but it was OK for sleeping. They didn't have cribs there, so Tabitha slept in the bed for the first time. She did fine with that, and she's in a toddler bed here which she likes. Oh, but when we got to the hotel they couldn't find our reservation! Here it is 11 at night, with 7 tired cranky people, and we have no reservation?! But they did find it eventually; not sure what the problem was, but we were then able to go to sleep. We had breakfast there, and then headed back to the airport.
We got there 2 hours early and used every minute of it! The United staff was very helpful in getting us seats together, and even leaving an empty one in the middle of our row so we'd have extra room. Then we went through all the various stations. (By the way, we didn't know this ahead of time, but they were scanning body temperatures on the way out of the country too--glad no one was sick!) We got to our gate when boarding had just started. I wish this next part wasn't my final experience in China, but it is what it is. You can't drink the tap water in China, so you have to buy bottled water everywhere you go. That's fine, except at the airport because you can't bring liquids through security. So we finally made it through the hour and a half process and arrived at the gate. Heath ran to a store really quickly to buy some drinks, so we could have something right away instead of waiting until they served drinks on the plane. He bought 4 cans of pop and a bottle of water. (Remember, our water bottles had been empty and Tabitha's supposed to be drinking 2 liters a day.) So the boys start drinking one can of pop, and a lady comes over to rush us to board (even though the flight doesn't leave for another 20 minutes at least.) Then she says they can't bring the drink with them, so they take another chug and then have to throw it away. I assumed that was because they didn't want it to spill while we were finding our seats and all. Fine. I put the other drinks on top of everything else in one of the bags, and we start down the jetway. For the first time ever in my whole life, anywhere I've ever travelled, they were doing a bag check on the jetway! So we start walking onto the plane, and they have some tables set up and are going through everyone's carry-ons. (Well, they never looked through Mom's wheeled suitcase, but all our other bags, they did.) And what was on top of mine? The drinks. The water for my dehydrated self and my medically-instructed-to-drink-lots-of-water 2 year old. And the guy tells me I can't bring them on the plane. I was like "What do you mean? These are our drinks that we bought 2 minutes ago on THIS side of security specifically to drink on this plane." I pointed to Tabitha, and said "The baby needs water!" He didn't speak English, but he just kept saying "No, no, no" in a calm, polite, make-me-want-to-kill-you way. Now, granted, this was not his fault--I'm sure he was just doing as he had been told. But unforunately, even though he didn't understand English, he definitely understood my feelings about the matter. I was quite the "obnoxious American" I'm sure. And not a great example of kindness or self control. Finally, I gave up and stormed onto the plane in a huff. I am still very irritated about it, though I have repented of my poor response. I mean, what do they think we did--bought drinks down the hall and quickly built a bomb to hide inside them? Or were they afraid we might save the airline money by not drinking as much of the beverages they'd be serving? And if they're going to invent random ludicrous rules, a little warning would be nice. All the signs were in English, and I am sure there was nothing saying you couldn't bring drinks on the plane. I have to stop writing about it now, or I'll go ballistic again.
Anyway, after I finished my adult tantrum the flight to Tokyo was fine. When we landed, our connecting flight was only 40 minutes from departure, and for some reason Tokyo made everyone go through security before getting on the next flight! I guess they too must think we're building bombs to hide in our airplane beverage containers. We did make it onto the flight, just barely. We were in the very back of the plane, and had one extra seat, which was very helpful. The kids all slept about 5 hours or so, and the flight went fine. Tabitha woke up very happy and stayed that way, which was great! Ethan and Jesse weren't quite so happy about waking up, but they did OK.
We went through immigration with no problem, so Tabitha is now officially a US citizen!
Heath's Dad and Aunt Carolyn (Amy's mom) met us at the airport, with roses for the ladies, a balloon for Tabitha, and chocolates for the guys. When we stopped at Heath's parents' to drop them off and pick up Shadow, Tabitha was quite afraid of all the dogs (4 total). In the van, Shadow (our 70-pound lab/boxer mix) sat in the back with Ethan, Tabitha and Jesse in the middle row. All was well until I looked back and saw Shadow licking Tabitha's knee. She had snuck up to the middle row somehow. Tabitha was laughing, so I thought she'd decided Shadow was OK. But all of a sudden, she looked down and realized what was tickling her knee and let out the most terrified scream ever! She was SO upset! Other than that, she stayed very happy and kept practicing her new favorite English word. "Uh-oh." She's learned that and the word "no" already. =)
It was SO nice to get home, even if it was only 50 degrees in here. Thank the Lord for protecing our house while we were gone. No problems, and soon the heat was on, and we were enjoying our own home and our endless supply of tap water! =)
Today, Tabitha's gotten a little better with Shadow. She still panics when she comes around, but as long as we are touching or holding her, she calms down. I think within a few more days she might even like her! Ethan and Tabitha and I played outside while Heath and Jesse bought groceries. Tabitha loved raking up leaves with Ethan and copying everything he did! It was so cute!
Now I just need to continue plowing through the laundry, and then read the mail and email that have piled up, which will probably take the rest of the week. Then we'll be ready for life to resume. :)
Well, I didn't mean for this post to be so long. I'll go ahead and post the missing stories I promised now.
We made it!
Well, we are safely and successfully home. :) I meant to post this last night (we got home about 5:30), but I was so tired I literally thought I'd fall over, so we all went to bed at 7. Tabitha woke up a lot, but everyone else slept well until 4:30; then Heath sent me back to bed, and I just got up at 8.
I'm exhausted, but so thankful for our wonderful and newly-enlarged family. And I'm so thankful for our chance to experience China and to have Mom and Amy there, for their company and for all the extra help with the kids. They were truly indispensable!
I'll fill in the couple of missing stories soon--once I can think straight. (I still feel like I could fall over.) =)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Almost there!
The last couple days haven't had that much going on. The big event today was taking the "oath" for immigration. We promised that everything we wrote about our child on her visa application was true. There was a huge group doing it together, and that was it. Then we went back to the hotel. It was kind of anti-climatic, but I guess it means we're allowed to bring her home now. So that's good news!
The last 2 days I've been feeling sick. I don't know if I ate something bad or what, but I was up all night last night, and in bed all day today. Fortunately Heath hasn't complained about taking care of the kids (and me). I'm starting to feel better, and I'll try to eat something tonight. All I've had in the past 2 days is dry cheerios and some toast. Hopefully I'll be totally better tomorrow and ready for our flight! We leave for Beijing tomorrow evening, spend the night in the airport hotel, and then fly home on Friday (via Tokyo).
Tabitha's true colors have been shining through. I guess it's good that she's getting comfortable with us, but she's now whining and throwing temper tantrums quite frequently. She's also gotten very picky about what she eats--unlike the first couple days when we couldn't find anything she wouldn't eat. I've been in bed all day, so poor Heath has had to handle her, plus the continued fights between the boys over the elevator buttons. But soon we'll be back to home and routine, and I'm fully confident things will improve! At least, they'd better! Despite some challenges, the trip has gone pretty well, and we have what we came for--our new little daughter. So I can't complain. :)
Well, thanks for following our journey. I don't know if I'll write any more from this side of the globe, so I'll talk to you all once we're home!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday and Monday
Sunday was a much better day than Saturday, that's for sure! Tabitha was feeling much better. In the morning, our guide took us to the Folk Art Museum. It was really interesting! The buildings used to be a family temple; only about 100 years old. There were all kinds of art work--wood carvings, etched glass, ivory carvings (newer ones are now made out of camel bone instead, to protect the elephants), silk embroidery, etc. The embroidery was amazing. These designs looked like paintings--so detailed, and the colors just blended perfectly, but they were actually embroidered. And the silk thread made them shimmery too, so the ones with water looked like real water. They were absolutely gorgeous. I would've liked to buy one, but there's no way we could've afforded them! The kids were really good during this trip too, very patient. The boys weren't whining, and Tabitha was still tired out from her shots, so she was very calm. After that we stopped at a humongous grocery store for diapers and water. The store was so big it had ramp escalators so we could take the carts up and down. And there were several more floors of various other stores. It was huge.
We had lunch at Subway again--very American and very good. Then we all took a nap. For dinner we went to a Chinese restaurant nearby. We thought we ordered fried rice with meat and vegetables in it, but that turned out to be a soup with rice and vegetables in it. It was good though. Even with the menu in English, we still weren't sure what we were getting! Today we had to go back to the clinic to check Tabitha's TB test. She had no reaction, so we're done with all the medical stuff. Praise the Lord for that! The rest of the morning we played at a little playground and then had pizza at an Italian restaurant here. It was good, but I wish there were more cheap little restaurants to choose from here. Everything on the island is expensive, except some of the little shops. I'm glad our breakfast is included at the hotel--we wouldn't dare pay for a meal here. One of the restaurant has dinner prices listed at 399 yuan per person! That's over 50 dollars!
On the way back we bought a DVD of the Olympics opening ceremony. I still hadn't seen it. We watched part of it last night--truly amazing!
There's not much on the schedule for the next few days...just waiting for all the paperwork to get done, so we can take Tabitha home with us. Here are some interesting random things we've discovered:
This island is a popular place for wedding photos. There have been dozens of brides and grooms getting their photos taken here every day. Our guide told us that they do the wedding photos a couple months before the actual wedding. Then the photos are displayed at the wedding. They start off wearing the very fancy European-style white wedding dress. Then they change to the traditional red later on.
The hotels here all have "turn-down" service. Housekeeping comes in each afternoon to close the blinds, arrange the pillows, and give us chocolate. If we're here, I tell them no thank you, but they still give us the chocolate. =)
Waitresses do not automatically bring the check. You have ask for it, or you'll be sitting there all night! Napkins are an oddity at restaurants. I guess Chinese people are so good with their chopsticks that they don't need them!
Beds are supposed to be hard for good health. At the folk art museum they had the old furniture displayed. There was a wooden bed with ceramic boxes for pillows. Boy, that sounds cozy. The hotel beds aren't much different, except for the down comforters which I love.
Cantonese people are known for their food. It's said they eat anything that flies except an airplane, and anything with 4 legs except a table. We have noticed that to be true by walking around the streets. One of the seafood restaurants had tubs of various live creatures that I didn't even want to look at, let alone eat! There was a small pool full of something that totally reminded me of the Princess Bride. "You know what that sound is, highness? Those are the shrieking eels. They always grow louder when they're about to feed on human flesh!" Thank goodness there are "normal" foods around too. :)
Well, we're having a good time, but I'm eager to get home. Back to my own bed, my own kitchen, and our own doctors. Heath and I will both feel better when we can get Tabitha into the doctor at Johns Hopkins. And the boys are doing pretty well (besides the daily fight over who gets to push the elevator buttons), but I can tell they're tired and ready to go home too. But this is a beautiful place, and we'll enjoy our last few days here!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
What a Day!
It's now 10 pm on Saturday night. I'm a little behind with the updates. . . wouldn't you know--move to a new hotel and find new internet problems! We have to pay for it here, which irritates me to no end, especially since it wouldn't work at first! But, not wanting to disappoint my loyal readers, I pressed on, and here we are. By the way, it has been such an encouragement to read comments. Some from people I didn't even know were aware of our trip! Thanks so much for the encouragement and advice.
I think I left off with the bell tower last time. That was Thursday. We visited both the drum and bell towers in the center of Xian. Beautiful ancient buildings that used to be used for telling time and warnings. Jesse and Ethan got to ring the gigantic bell, and then we watched a concert of traditional Chinese instruments inside the tower. It was very cool! Tabitha is one energetic little girl. She definitely kept us on our toes, keeping up with her desire to run constantly! Ethan has been a big help with the little ones, and very well-behaved this whole trip. Jesse was feeling much better by then, and acting much better too! He's so funny--when we told him we were going to get dumplings for dinner, his response was, "Dumplings will be disgusting. I want mice." It's not like he stops to think up something funny--he just says these things off the top of his head! Well, we decided to try the 2nd floor of the dumpling restaurant where we had gone before. Each floor gets fancier and more expensive, but it was still an excellent bargain compared to eating out in the States. We didn't have a translator with us, and we weren't sure how the system worked on that floor. It was totally different than the 1st floor, where you could just point to what you wanted. The waitress did her best to explain, but after ordering we still weren't entirely sure what was about to happen. It turned out to be a phenomenal dining experience! Next time, we'll need to make sure not to eat for a few days leading up to it. There was so much food! We ordered for 4 people, since there were 4 adults. But even with the 3 kids, we still could've had half as much food. It started with 4 dishes--some tuna thing which was gross, lotus vegetable which was OK, sugar snap peas--excellent, and peanuts--very excellent! While we were eating that, the dumplings started arriving. It turns out we get 4 each of 14 types of dumplings, and one big bowl of the "regular" dumplings we'd had on the 1st floor. They were all different, in appearance and taste. And some of them were even shaped like whatever they were stuffed with! The one made with lotus was shaped like a lotus flower; the one with duck meat inside was shaped to look like a duck; they were amazing and (most of them) tasted very good! After that the waitress brought soup. She lit a fire under a little pot of soup and made mini-dumpling soup. She said that depending on how many "baby dumplings" you got in your bowl, you'd have a different future. We all got two, which means double happiness. Tabitha ate about as much as Heath; Ethan and Jesse nibbled here and there. I guess they're not big on being adventurous with their eating. But the rest of us were all stuffed and had to roll out the door, after the watermelon of course. They end almost every meal with a plate of watermelon and sometimes other fruit with it. It was definitely the best meal we've had here (and maybe anywhere else!)
Friday was our last day in Xian. We went to see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Before the discovery of the Terra Cotta Warriors, this had been Xian's most famous landmark. It's an ancient Buddhist place, and we learned a lot about the history of a Buddhist monk (can't remember his name). The day before, Jesse had wanted to be carried every where, but this time he took off running up the 7 flights of stairs in the pagoda. He made it to the 6th floor without complaining! Sightseeing is exhausting, but I'm glad we've been able to see so many things that we might not ever get to see again. After going back to the hotel to pack and check out, we went to the Xian City Wall. We went up on top and walked around for about 45 minutes. The wall is huge! I don't know how long it is, but it was about 40 feet across. It even had a moat around it to keep the bad guys out. The kids all got their energy out up there. Ethan and Jesse were racing each other and Mommom and Amy. Heath and I were racing Tabitha, but not on purpose. She just loves to run! I don't know where she gets so much energy, but I guess that's why her appetite is so big! Without my saying anything, Amy and Mom had decided to not let Tabitha go to them as much, so she was stuck with us. :) It was nice to have her all to ourselves, but it sure makes it more tiring! :) She was having such a great time though--she just laughs like crazy when she's having fun. Still haven't heard her talk more than a couple words, but she does love to laugh. After the wall, we had to wait for Janet for awhile, because there had been a delay with getting Tabitha's passport. But she finally got it, and we were off to the airport.
Ethan was a huge help. He pushed Tabitha's stroller while the rest of us hauled luggage. We all made it onto the plane, and even had some empty seats to spread out a little. The kids all slept most of the way there, and I kept nodding off too. I felt really bad for a mom in front of us. Her baby boy was sleeping on her lap, and the flight attendant made her put her seat belt on and hold him for descending, which woke him up. They always do that--don't they realize that that is just the time NOT to wake up a baby? He was grabbing his ears and cried the whole rest of the way. Poor little thing. Fortunately, our little ones stayed asleep. We had to go down stairs and onto a bus at the airport--that was an adventure. 4 adults, 4 carry-ons, 1 stroller, 1 tired big kid, and 2 sleeping little kids. But we did make it, got our luggage successfully, and met up with our new guide, Helen. She's very sweet. On the way to the hotel, she gave us an overview of the whole week and told us lots of good detailed information about the hotel, which is awesome!
We checked in, threw the kids in bed, and delighted in the COLD room! They must've known Americans were coming, because it was freezing in here. It was a welcome change from Xian, where I guess it was too late in the season for AC, but the cool outside air doesn't come inside, so it's very stuffy. And when you go to the supermarket and ask for a fan, they think you're nuts. Anyway, we're very happy to have the air conditioning. But I did just turn it off a few minutes ago because it was blowing on me and freezing me no matter how much I turned the temperature up and the fan down! Someone mentioned the "out of control AC"--I guess you were right!
This morning we began our day that gave this post its title. Breakfast was delicious--even better than the other hotel. We even got to sit by a waterfall while we ate. There's a 3-story waterfall in the hotel, and a pond full of really big coy. There are several lounges, one with a live string quartet tonight, and everything is beautiful. As we ate, we looked around, and it was probably 50% adoptive families. Everywhere you look there's a non-Chinese couple (usually American), with a Chinese child. We were no longer something to be pointed and stared at, like in Xian. Instead, we were the majority! After breakfast and exploring the hotel a bit, Helen came to our room to help us fill out the visa paperwork. Then we headed out and about. There's a Starbucks, 7-11, Subway, and some others, all within walking distance. The city of Guangzhou has 9 million people, but we're on a little area called Shamian Island that only has about 5,000 residents. And the buildings are all European style, because it used to be a British colony. It doesn't look like the rest of China at all, and everything is very peaceful and calm. I like it, but I do feel a little spoiled, and like we're no longer experiencing the real culture. (But that changes later in the story.)
We got another picture taken for Tabitha's visa or something, and then we went to the clinic. This clinic is for immigration. It was mostly adoptive families. We heard almost all English, and everyone we looked at was American. We met two friends we had only met online (Jen--one was Julie!; Kelly--the other was Lisa (who we met briefly in Xian too), and swapped stories with several other families. Tabitha was weighed, measured, and had her ears checked. We shelled out big piles of yuan because, in addition to the exam fee, she had to get 5 shots, plus the TB test! The poor little thing. Heath held her during the shots. She screamed louder with each one, and the nurse took forever, so it was prolonged. Why couldn't they combine them, or have two nurses do them at the same time so they were over more quickly? Anyway, she did survive, but she was drenched with sweat by the end of it. She sweats a TON all the time, and all the crying made her hair soaked. After that we waited for the doctor. He needed more information than we had. We don't have her complete medical records, but I guess he was finally able to get enough information to write his report. Of course, he had Tabitha lie down on the exam table, and she started screaming again, assuming they were going to hurt her more. Fortunately, Helen was able to tell her no more shots, and that calmed her down a little bit. I'm so thankful for the ladies today who have been able to communicate with her, since we don't have the words to explain anything to her. We finished that ordeal, and Helen went to the pharmacy for us to get more catheter bags. We were told to change the bag today, and then have a doctor change the tube that goes inside her a week from today.
While we were at the clinic, Mom and Amy took the boys to the pool. They said it was beautiful! They had a fun time, and then they all went to Subway for lunch while I put Tabitha down for a nap. Heath brought my lunch back, complete with a DIET Pepsi--not so easy to find here! We had noticed at the clinic that Tabitha's urine had been darker and thicker, and the bag wasn't filling much. After her nap, we put on the new bag, and we kept trying to get her to drink more water, but it didn't seem to help. Nothing was coming into the bag, and it looked like there was a clog in the tube. She was also starting to act uncomfortable, like her bladder was hurting.
By 4:00 we decided we needed to get help. We left the kids with Mom again. They worked on their AWANA verses, "wrote" in their journals, and watched a movie. We took Tabitha downstairs, and exchanged more money to be prepared for a doctor. The assistant manager here speaks English amazingly well, and he was a big help. He sent us to the hotel clinic first, but there was nothing they could do for her there. They said to take her to the hospital. By this time, she was crying, and she wanted to walk because holding her seemed to hurt more, no matter what positions we tried. But soon, she couldn't even walk without pain, so we had to carry her. We were planning to take her to a Western hospital that Kelly R had recommended, but our guide said to meet her at the Children's Hospital, which is very close to here. Not knowing any better, we agreed. The asst manager got us a taxi, and we headed off.
[I just spent a really long time writing a detailed description of our hospital experience. But I decided to just summarize for now, not knowing if I can say all that needs to be said from this location. I'll add the full report after we're back home. It was a very stressful experience, and it ended up that she had her catheter tube replaced. After that everything was fine.]
We came back and put the kids to bed. Tabitha's bag was nice and full, and we're supposed to make her drink almost 2 liters of water a day. It'd have been nice if they told us that in the first place--maybe all this could've been avoided! All 3 went right to sleep. I went down to complain about the internet not working, but I heard live music and got drawn over to the lounge where I listened to a string quartet and drank a $6 diet coke. The music was just what I needed after such a stressful day, so it was worth the money. I got back, and Heath went out for a bit to eat and relax. I called the internet service people, they got it fixed, and now here I am writing. Only took me an hour. :) Now, off to bed, with prayer for a better day tomorrow, and gratitude for a happy ending.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Another Update!
So, nap time again, and I'm writing again! That's two days in a row that Heath successfully got Jesse to sleep. I knew I married a hero! =) Tabitha goes to sleep very easily, never fusses about it, just drinks her water and goes right to sleep.
Yesterday after the kids finally woke up from their naps, we went to dinner. We'd had our guide write down a restaurant for us, and the dish that a friend had recommended to us (Da Pan Ji). We ordered it, but either we didn't communicate with our guide well, the restaurant didn't do what she wrote down, or we don't know what spicy really means. We thought we'd asked for the non-spicy version, but man oh man was it hot! The dish is little pieces of chicken (still on the bone, also including the neck and the feet), with potatoes and green peppers on noodles. It tasted very good, but it burned our mouths! The boys wouldn't touch it after the first bite, and well-rested Jesse resorted to crying through the rest of the meal that he wanted something else to eat. He also dropped his ceramic spoon on the floor and broke it, which happened at the only other dinner he was awake for too! Maybe it's better to just keep having him sleep through dinner! Anyway, we did get some plain rice which helped a little, but afterward felt compelled to get ice cream for the poor starved children. :) Tabitha, on the other hand, kept taking more and more noodles, which were the spiciest part. I guess she's used to spicy food--she didn't make a face or anything! Heath liked the food too, and Amy and Mom were OK with it. I liked the chicken and potatoes, but I needed the relief of ice cream as much as the kids.
After that we just came back to the hotel until bedtime. This was the longest night of sleep yet--we made it until almost 6:00 am! But Tabitha woke up at midnight. She scared us because she just yelled out like she was scared or angry--she must've been dreaming. I picked her up, but then she wanted Heath, but then she wanted me again. She said "mama" a few times, but she was obviously not talking about me. I think she wanted her nanny from the orphanage. She did let us comfort her though, and went back to sleep. Jesse woke up coughing in the morning again, and needed the nebulizer, but he's been doing much better the past day or so. I'm so glad I packed that nebulizer last minute! We've used it every night for him. I think the smog and cigarette smoke make everything worse for him. But he does seem almost better.
Today was a free day with nothing official on the schedule. So this morning we went for a walk to the Great Mosque. If I understood our guide right yesterday when she was telling us about it, it's the only Muslim mosque built in Chinese style in the world. It was very beautiful with lots of gardens to walk through. Very peaceful. We didn't see any Muslims at prayer or anything, but it was interesting nonetheless. Walking through the Muslim market was neat too. It reminded me a lot of being in Israel, except the people and everything they were selling was Chinese (if that makes any sense). We managed to avoid being run over by several carts, bicycles, scooters, and cars, but not by much. Mom and I have both been nudged--me by a scooter and her by a car. Crossing the street is quite the thrill here! Come to think of it, even walking on the sidewalk you have to watch out for cars. If they can even come close to fitting in a space, they'll drive there. Stop lights do exist at major intersections, but I think they're considered optional.
I've been struggling with a bit of jealousy today. Like I said yesterday, Tabitha is very cuddly and loving towards all of us, but she especially likes Amy! She always wants to hold her hand, and pulls her along with her, and wants her to carry her. I can't blame her--Amy's quite the lovable person! The boys love Amy too, and when they prefer Mommom or Amy, that's fine with me because I'm assured that they know who Mommy is, and our relationship is secure. But with Tabitha, she doesn't know I'm her mommy yet. I was all prepared for if she liked Heath and not me, but for her to want someone besides the two of us--or even the 4 of us--isn't allowed! I mean we're the ones who have been waiting and planning and working and saving for her for the past few years! I think I understand a bit of God's jealous love for us. I mean, He is the perfect parent who has given up everything to have relationship with us, and how often do we prefer someone or something other than Him? But, anyway, I'm sure once we get home and established as a family and into a routine we'll become more bonded. (Fellow adoptive parents-- any advice? We've been doing all the feeding and comforting for Tabitha, but haven't prevented her from being carried by Amy or Mommom if she prefers. Do you think we need to "force" more bonding activities at this point, or just wait until we get home and life is normal, and then she'll turn to us more. I feel like we shouldn't worry about it too much at this point, but just thought I'd ask you BTDT people.)
Oh, I must say Tabitha is also getting past the compliant, quiet spirit she had when she first met us. She's turning more and more into a regular two-year-old. Walking down the street today, she didn't want the stroller, so we let her walk, but she would keep pulling away from holding hands if we wouldn't go the way she wanted. (She always wanted to go up and down steps whenever she saw them.) She kept trying to run away, would twist and squirm away if we tried to carry her, and so we had to put her in the stroller. This is the first time she actually started whining, and then crying. Heath picked her up and comforted her, and one of the ladies selling food gave her a dried fruit. After that she was fine. As much as I enjoy how "easy" she is, I guess it's healthy that she does have a bit of attitude in her. :) We bought some kind of donut thing at one of the food stands. It tasted . . . interesting. I wanted to try a burrito-looking thing, but I don't know if we'll have time to go back. This area is full of stands of dried fruit, nuts, pastry-ish things. My guess is there's some middle-eastern influence there, since it's Muslim, and that's why the food and shops reminded me of Israel. I don't actually know if that's true--just my guess.
We had lunch at the hotel, and then came back for naps. Afterward we'll go see the drum and bell tower and go back to the dumpling and dimsum restaurant for dinner. Yummy. Oh, and Heath just came back in from a walk. He found a Wal-mart, and he brought me back a Dove chocolate bar. Like I said . . . my hero. :) He also found a DQ, which we need to make sure we utilize before leaving tomorrow. You'd think a trip to China would help me lose weight with the healthier diet they eat here. But I've been eating way too much, especially at breakfast. Is Bacon every day really that bad of a habit? =)
Well, thanks for all the comments on the blog, and the thoughts and prayers. Even though I can't get on the actual blog, the comments are sent to my email address, so it's nice to know so many people are reading it and thinking about us. Hopefully I'll write more tomorrow.
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Yesterday after the kids finally woke up from their naps, we went to dinner. We'd had our guide write down a restaurant for us, and the dish that a friend had recommended to us (Da Pan Ji). We ordered it, but either we didn't communicate with our guide well, the restaurant didn't do what she wrote down, or we don't know what spicy really means. We thought we'd asked for the non-spicy version, but man oh man was it hot! The dish is little pieces of chicken (still on the bone, also including the neck and the feet), with potatoes and green peppers on noodles. It tasted very good, but it burned our mouths! The boys wouldn't touch it after the first bite, and well-rested Jesse resorted to crying through the rest of the meal that he wanted something else to eat. He also dropped his ceramic spoon on the floor and broke it, which happened at the only other dinner he was awake for too! Maybe it's better to just keep having him sleep through dinner! Anyway, we did get some plain rice which helped a little, but afterward felt compelled to get ice cream for the poor starved children. :) Tabitha, on the other hand, kept taking more and more noodles, which were the spiciest part. I guess she's used to spicy food--she didn't make a face or anything! Heath liked the food too, and Amy and Mom were OK with it. I liked the chicken and potatoes, but I needed the relief of ice cream as much as the kids.
After that we just came back to the hotel until bedtime. This was the longest night of sleep yet--we made it until almost 6:00 am! But Tabitha woke up at midnight. She scared us because she just yelled out like she was scared or angry--she must've been dreaming. I picked her up, but then she wanted Heath, but then she wanted me again. She said "mama" a few times, but she was obviously not talking about me. I think she wanted her nanny from the orphanage. She did let us comfort her though, and went back to sleep. Jesse woke up coughing in the morning again, and needed the nebulizer, but he's been doing much better the past day or so. I'm so glad I packed that nebulizer last minute! We've used it every night for him. I think the smog and cigarette smoke make everything worse for him. But he does seem almost better.
Today was a free day with nothing official on the schedule. So this morning we went for a walk to the Great Mosque. If I understood our guide right yesterday when she was telling us about it, it's the only Muslim mosque built in Chinese style in the world. It was very beautiful with lots of gardens to walk through. Very peaceful. We didn't see any Muslims at prayer or anything, but it was interesting nonetheless. Walking through the Muslim market was neat too. It reminded me a lot of being in Israel, except the people and everything they were selling was Chinese (if that makes any sense). We managed to avoid being run over by several carts, bicycles, scooters, and cars, but not by much. Mom and I have both been nudged--me by a scooter and her by a car. Crossing the street is quite the thrill here! Come to think of it, even walking on the sidewalk you have to watch out for cars. If they can even come close to fitting in a space, they'll drive there. Stop lights do exist at major intersections, but I think they're considered optional.
I've been struggling with a bit of jealousy today. Like I said yesterday, Tabitha is very cuddly and loving towards all of us, but she especially likes Amy! She always wants to hold her hand, and pulls her along with her, and wants her to carry her. I can't blame her--Amy's quite the lovable person! The boys love Amy too, and when they prefer Mommom or Amy, that's fine with me because I'm assured that they know who Mommy is, and our relationship is secure. But with Tabitha, she doesn't know I'm her mommy yet. I was all prepared for if she liked Heath and not me, but for her to want someone besides the two of us--or even the 4 of us--isn't allowed! I mean we're the ones who have been waiting and planning and working and saving for her for the past few years! I think I understand a bit of God's jealous love for us. I mean, He is the perfect parent who has given up everything to have relationship with us, and how often do we prefer someone or something other than Him? But, anyway, I'm sure once we get home and established as a family and into a routine we'll become more bonded. (Fellow adoptive parents-- any advice? We've been doing all the feeding and comforting for Tabitha, but haven't prevented her from being carried by Amy or Mommom if she prefers. Do you think we need to "force" more bonding activities at this point, or just wait until we get home and life is normal, and then she'll turn to us more. I feel like we shouldn't worry about it too much at this point, but just thought I'd ask you BTDT people.)
Oh, I must say Tabitha is also getting past the compliant, quiet spirit she had when she first met us. She's turning more and more into a regular two-year-old. Walking down the street today, she didn't want the stroller, so we let her walk, but she would keep pulling away from holding hands if we wouldn't go the way she wanted. (She always wanted to go up and down steps whenever she saw them.) She kept trying to run away, would twist and squirm away if we tried to carry her, and so we had to put her in the stroller. This is the first time she actually started whining, and then crying. Heath picked her up and comforted her, and one of the ladies selling food gave her a dried fruit. After that she was fine. As much as I enjoy how "easy" she is, I guess it's healthy that she does have a bit of attitude in her. :) We bought some kind of donut thing at one of the food stands. It tasted . . . interesting. I wanted to try a burrito-looking thing, but I don't know if we'll have time to go back. This area is full of stands of dried fruit, nuts, pastry-ish things. My guess is there's some middle-eastern influence there, since it's Muslim, and that's why the food and shops reminded me of Israel. I don't actually know if that's true--just my guess.
We had lunch at the hotel, and then came back for naps. Afterward we'll go see the drum and bell tower and go back to the dumpling and dimsum restaurant for dinner. Yummy. Oh, and Heath just came back in from a walk. He found a Wal-mart, and he brought me back a Dove chocolate bar. Like I said . . . my hero. :) He also found a DQ, which we need to make sure we utilize before leaving tomorrow. You'd think a trip to China would help me lose weight with the healthier diet they eat here. But I've been eating way too much, especially at breakfast. Is Bacon every day really that bad of a habit? =)
Well, thanks for all the comments on the blog, and the thoughts and prayers. Even though I can't get on the actual blog, the comments are sent to my email address, so it's nice to know so many people are reading it and thinking about us. Hopefully I'll write more tomorrow.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Our First Family Photo!
OK, everyone, my apologies for not keeping you informed of our journey! We finally have the internet working on our laptop, so I'm going to attempt to describe the trip so far before the kids wake up from their naps. Thanks to my friend Jen for posting this for me! (I can't access blogspot from here.) As I'm typing I'm listening to "Do-a-Deer-a-Female-Deer" played by the street cleaning machine outside. This happens several times a day, and at 6:00 am and noon there is more sophisticated music played for the city to hear. It's quite interesting!
OK, so backing up . . . We were all ready to leave last Wednesday morning. I'll have to share the details once I'm home, but Jesse and I ended up waiting until Friday to leave. Everyone else made it safely to Beijing on Thursday. They saw all the important sights and were quite worn out by the time we got there! Jesse did great on the plane. I actually didn't mind the 14 hours--got to see a few good movies, and didn't have any problems at all. Wish I could say the same about the past week--he's been a bear! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
So, we got to Beijing Saturday afternoon, took a little rest, and then met up with the other 4. We went out for Peking Duck dinner. SO good! But unfortunately, I was too tired to thoroughly enjoy it. But it was still very yummy. We went to bed, but Jesse and I and Heath were all awake a lot through the night. At 5 am I finally returned to sleep, only to OVERsleep! Our alarm was still on US time (12 hours off), so it didnt' go off and wake us up. Fortunately, Stephanie (Heath's mom) woke us up, and we got all our baggage packed on time and made it to the airport. The Beijing airport is WAY improved than when I was here before. Quite impressive. We flew an hour and a half and arrived in Xian. Oh, and we got a full lunch on that little flight. I guess the Chinese airlines haven't cut back like the American ones!
We got to the hotel here in Xian. It's inside the old city wall, which is so cool looking--can't wait to walk on top! It took a bit to settle in. First our door key didn't work, then we had an army of people come in and assemble a crib for us, then we blew a fuse by plugging in the wrong thing. But finally we were in. I spent the next hour moving us in. I unpacked and arranged things and finally felt a bit of order to our lives. Then I prepared the gifts we'd brought for the orphanage director and workers. About an hour later it was time to get Tabitha! Our guide took us to the office where she was. When we came in the room, I didn't realize she was there at first because she was hiding between the legs of her nanny whose back was to us. We met the orphanage director, and the nanny, and only then did I see the cute little girl--OUR girl-- hiding there! She was very quiet. She let me hold her hand but didn't want to be picked up. So I just took it slow and knelt down by here while our guide translated various information for us. Turns out they had just brought her back from Beijing THAT DAY! We knew she was there for medical care, but we didn't realized she'd been there for over a year, and had just returned that day. We gave our gifts, and they gave us her baby book, pictures, and the toys we'd sent to her. We signed a paper saying that we had to be with her overnight and then make our decision the next day. As if we'd say, "Well, on second thought, she snores--we'll just leave her here and go home." Yeah, right. (She doesn't actually snore, I just can't imagine how anyone could change their mind that late.) So, she finally let us hold her, and we got some pictures. She didn't cry at all, just very calm, quiet, content.
When we got back to the hotel, she just sat on heath's lap, very calm and quiet. But all that changed when she saw the doll we'd brought for her. Remember how they said she doesn't like toys with big eyes? Well, it's not just big eyes--it's anything with a 3D shape of a person or animal, we think. She started crying and batting the doll away. Other than that, she has not cried a single time! Ethan carefully tied blankets to her crib to cover up the pictures on there. But now we've realized pictures with big eyes don't bother her--only 3D things.
We went to dinner here at the hotel. Tabitha's a very good eater. She's liked everything we've given her. Dealing with the catheter has been fine too. There's just a valve on the bag that we have to empty into the toilet. When we get to Guangzhou the doctor will change it for us. At dinner Jesse fell asleep. At bed time, we put her in the crib, but she wanted out, so I just held her and rocked her until I thought she was asleep, but upon laying her down, realized she wasn't. So, I laid down with her on my chest, and we both fell asleep that way. Very sweet. Then we transferred her to the crib, where she slept very well. In the morning she looked around for me until I came and got her. Jesse and Ethan both had various ailments and weren't sleeping so well. So we were all quite tired.
Monday was a rough day. Ethan was sick, I was exhausted, and Jesse was (and still is) extremely crabby. We left the boys with mom, and went back to the office to sign all the necessary papers and have our interview. Nothing too difficult, and we passed. =) We went to lunch at a nearby restaurant. Our guide wasn't with us, and no one spoke english. Fortunately the menu had pictures. And I managed to use two of my Chinese words to get us water and white rice. :) Mom managed to get herself a fork too--she's just not enjoying the challenge of chopsticks. After lunch we picked up the official paper, so she's really ours! Then we went shopping for various things at a big supermarket. By this time Jesse was just beyond miserable, Ethan still wasn't feeling great, and I was going mad and ready to go home! Fortnuately my bad mood only lasted a couple hours, and the rest of the time has been good. Oh yes, at lunch Jesse had been looking at the menu too, which included many interesting things. When our chicken, veggies, and rice arrived he got this offended look on his face and said, "I wanted crabs and turtles!" He also attempted to eat the chicken head that came on the dish, but I prevented it. Mommy can only stomach so much.
For dinner Monday we ate at the hotel again. We ordered a hamburger for the boys to share, thinking they'd be excited to have familiar food. Ethan had one bite and said he was full. Jesse (who cannot fall asleep during naptime no matter what we do) fell asleep on the chair before he even ate anything. After dinner we came back to the room, and the three kids played together. Tabitha really came alive. She was chasing the boys, laughing out loud, and they were all having a great time. She looked hillarious, because I took out the little braids that were on top of her head, and her hair was huge! But it was so fun to watch them together. We gave her a bath, which went fine and took care of the hair problem. :)
Tuesday morning Tabitha woke up very subdued, and turned out to be sick. She threw up after drinking her cup of water, but we thought it was just because of drinking too much water on an empty stomach, so we gave her some crackers, but she threw those up too. Thought we'd try congee (watery rice cereal) down at breakfast. (This hotel does have an AWESOME breakfast--you were right, Joyce.) She ate half a bowl and was doing great, but then suddenly threw up all over Heath! So we took her back to the room, and she slept all morning. Heath stayed with her while the rest of us went to the pool. Then I stayed with her while the rest of them went out to lunch. They walked around the "authentic" areas and ended up eating chicken and squid-on-a-stick. Except for Ethan who had french fries from McDonald's. Oh well. By the afternoon Tabitha was feeling much better, Jesse was coughing less, and everyone except Jesse was in a good mood. We attempted naptime for Jesse, but to no avail. We walked to the city center for dimsum and dumplings. Jesse was tired of walking, so I carried him piggy back. Within 2 minutes of putting him up there he was asleep! On my back! I thought he'd fall off, so Heath took him the rest of the way, and we finally made it to the restaurnat. Dim sum (I think that's the right word) is where they bring all the selection on a cart and you just point to what you want. Very nice for us foreigners. Plus, there was a British couple there who helped us figure out how to order dumplings. They were so good! That's what this place is known for, and it was delicious. Jesse slept through the entire dinner once again . . . 3 for 3. Then he woke up when we put him in the stroller for the way home, and complained the whole way back that he was cold. The temperature is beautiful here, actually! It's a great time to come as far as the weather goes. When we got back, Jesse didn't want to brush his teeth because he wanted "to go right to bed!" But we did brush teeth, and then he went to sleep. Best night of sleep yet, for all of us!! Oh, and Tabitha must not have had tooth-brushing as a regular part of her life. Her teeth have a lot of plaque, and she would NOT open her mouth to let me brush them. We'll keep working on that.
Anyway, everyone slept well last night, and we're all healthy. So this was a very good day. We went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors this morning--Xian's claim to fame. They're about 2200 years old, life-size clay warriors buried with Emporer Qin for his army in the afterlife. They were discovered accidentally by someone digging a well in 1974. There are thousands of them, and they haven't even excavated them all yet. Very cool.
I think Ethan enjoyed seeing them. Jesse was still pretty whiny there, but he did enjoy some of it. Tabitha has started to come out of her shell. She's no longer Little Miss Compliant. Now she makes her wishes known by pointing and squirming to get to where she wants to go. She loves to walk around, and hold hands IF you're going her way. We had to run after her a couple times already because she wanted to go elsewhere. Such is the duty of a 2-year-old. But she still hasn't cried or whined about anything. We have heard her say a couple words in Chinese, but not much. At the Terra Cotta factory, we showed her the miniature warriors to let her pick one to have. But when Heath held it up to her, she started yelling "Mei You! Mei You!", which means "No! No!" It was kind of funny, but I guess we'll stop trying to force her to like figurines. :) She seems to like all of us, but doesn't yet have a preference for Mommy and Daddy. She likes Amy and Mom-mom just as well, and would probably go just as easiliy to a stranger. I'm glad she likes them, but I'll feel much more secure of my position when she wants Mommy and Daddy over anyone else! Not that I'm jealous or anything. =)
We came back, and Tabitha took her nap, and believe-it-or-not, Jesse did too! Now it's 4:30, and we're having trouble waking them up! I hope this doesn't spell disastor for bedtime tonight. But at least maybe Jesse can stay awake through dinner today. :)
I think the most precious thing is yesterday when Ethan said to Tabitha, "I love you more than cutting down trees." And for Ethan--that's pretty intense! He also told me that he loves Tabitha "a little bit more than Mommy" because she plays with him more. Oh well. I'm glad he likes his sister. =)
Sorry for the typos--trying to get this out quickly. Thank you all for your continued prayers. I'll try to update again soon!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
An Exciting Update!!
Well so much for my posting about our journey! We can't get the internet to work on the laptop, and that coupled with exhaustion has prevented us from communicating until now (using the hotel's computer).
Anyway, we all made it safely, Jesse and I two days late (long story for another time), but here nonetheless. No qurantine or lost luggage or anything. The flight was actually really easy! But since we've been here Jesse's had a cough, and with the jet lag, weird food, crazy schedule . . . let's just say I have to keep reminding myself that children are a blessing! :) Ethan's doing great. Had a fever one day, but now fine, and handling everything like a trooper
Sunday we flew to Xian and got Tabitha! She is the prettiest little thing ever! She is sweet as can be. Hardly says a word (not that we could understand if she did), but she's very content and quiet. However, last night the 3 kids really warmed up to each other and were laughing like crazy and chasing each other and playing. It was very cute. Today Tabitha is sick though. Maybe got it from Ethan? Maybe got it from the crazy Americans who fed her American food? I don't know. We don't have anything on the schedule today, so it's good timing. Pray that she's better tomorrow and that it's nothing serious and that the rest of us would stay healthy!
There's a ton of details that I want to share, but I'll probably have to do it after we get home.
Thanks for your continued prayers. We need and appreciate it!
Love, Erin, Heath, Ethan, Jesse, Tabitha, Stephanie, and Amy
Anyway, we all made it safely, Jesse and I two days late (long story for another time), but here nonetheless. No qurantine or lost luggage or anything. The flight was actually really easy! But since we've been here Jesse's had a cough, and with the jet lag, weird food, crazy schedule . . . let's just say I have to keep reminding myself that children are a blessing! :) Ethan's doing great. Had a fever one day, but now fine, and handling everything like a trooper
Sunday we flew to Xian and got Tabitha! She is the prettiest little thing ever! She is sweet as can be. Hardly says a word (not that we could understand if she did), but she's very content and quiet. However, last night the 3 kids really warmed up to each other and were laughing like crazy and chasing each other and playing. It was very cute. Today Tabitha is sick though. Maybe got it from Ethan? Maybe got it from the crazy Americans who fed her American food? I don't know. We don't have anything on the schedule today, so it's good timing. Pray that she's better tomorrow and that it's nothing serious and that the rest of us would stay healthy!
There's a ton of details that I want to share, but I'll probably have to do it after we get home.
Thanks for your continued prayers. We need and appreciate it!
Love, Erin, Heath, Ethan, Jesse, Tabitha, Stephanie, and Amy
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Our Itinerary
Well, we leave for China in less than 4 days! I’m just about finished packing. Monday’s plan is to clean the house, do laundry, and pack the remaining items (basically just clothes). You may think “if she hasn’t even packed clothes yet, how can she say she’s just about finished?” Well, clothes for the four of us make up just a small part of what we need to bring. I have one whole suitcase full of gifts for the orphanage workers and clothes/toys for Tabitha. I have another suitcase full of snacks. I’ve got the adoption documents all ready, and I’m almost done with the carry-on bags. I have the toiletries and medicines packed, and the remaining two suitcases will hold that and our clothes. So, having just clothes left is a pretty good feeling!
We received an extra financial blessing tonight too. God has provided again and again throughout this entire process. There’s no way we could’ve afforded this on our own, but God has given “more than we asked or imagined.” He has used some very special people (you know who you are) to help us with the huge expenses of adoption. We are so very grateful.
My friend Kelly asked for our itinerary. So here it is! I can’t wait for the Peking Duck Dinner on 10/24. Oh yeah, and getting our daughter is pretty cool too. =) Gotcha Day is 10/25!
The hotels we’re staying at all look absolutely beautiful (way better than the Motel 6 of our most recent hotel experience). The weather should be beautiful this time of year, which is the only good part about having had to wait this long!
10/21/2009: Flight to Beijing!! (14 hours; We’re praising God for the direct flight from Dulles to Beijing. Time is 12 hours later there, so we’ll arrive on the 22nd.)
10/22/2009: Arrive in Beijing.
10/23/2009: Tour Tiennanmen Square and the Forbidden City. Visit the Temple of Heaven and see the Chaoyang Acrobatics show.
10/24/2009: Climb the Great Wall of China, drive by the Olympic Bird’s Nest, visit the Living Hope Fangshan orphanage and enjoy a Peking Duck dinner.
10/25/2009: Flight from Beijing to Xian 10:40am-12:35pm. Trip to the Civil Affairs office to meet our daughter!!! After this point we will have her with us the rest of the time!
10/26/2009: Trip to the Civil Affairs office to complete paperwork. Shopping for supplies.
10/27/2009: City Tour
10/28/2009: City Tour
10/29/2009: Rest
10/30/2009: Pick up the notary paperwork and child’s passport. Flight to Guangzhou, 5:30pm-7:20pm.
10/31/2009: Child’s medical check, visa photo, and visa paperwork
11/1/2009: Tour Guangzhou
11/2/2009: Medical again (tuberculosis results)
11/3/2009: Consulate Appointment.
11/4/2009: Bus to the USC to recite group oath
11/5/2009: Pick up our daughter’s visa in the afternoon. Fly to Beijing, 7:00pm-10:00 pm. Take the shuttle to the Beijing Airport Hotel.
11/6/2009: Take hotel shuttle to the airport. Fly back to the States--brief layover in Tokyo; then home!
11/7/2009-11/7/2010: SLEEP!!!!!!!!
We received an extra financial blessing tonight too. God has provided again and again throughout this entire process. There’s no way we could’ve afforded this on our own, but God has given “more than we asked or imagined.” He has used some very special people (you know who you are) to help us with the huge expenses of adoption. We are so very grateful.
My friend Kelly asked for our itinerary. So here it is! I can’t wait for the Peking Duck Dinner on 10/24. Oh yeah, and getting our daughter is pretty cool too. =) Gotcha Day is 10/25!
The hotels we’re staying at all look absolutely beautiful (way better than the Motel 6 of our most recent hotel experience). The weather should be beautiful this time of year, which is the only good part about having had to wait this long!
10/21/2009: Flight to Beijing!! (14 hours; We’re praising God for the direct flight from Dulles to Beijing. Time is 12 hours later there, so we’ll arrive on the 22nd.)
10/22/2009: Arrive in Beijing.
10/23/2009: Tour Tiennanmen Square and the Forbidden City. Visit the Temple of Heaven and see the Chaoyang Acrobatics show.
10/24/2009: Climb the Great Wall of China, drive by the Olympic Bird’s Nest, visit the Living Hope Fangshan orphanage and enjoy a Peking Duck dinner.
10/25/2009: Flight from Beijing to Xian 10:40am-12:35pm. Trip to the Civil Affairs office to meet our daughter!!! After this point we will have her with us the rest of the time!
10/26/2009: Trip to the Civil Affairs office to complete paperwork. Shopping for supplies.
10/27/2009: City Tour
10/28/2009: City Tour
10/29/2009: Rest
10/30/2009: Pick up the notary paperwork and child’s passport. Flight to Guangzhou, 5:30pm-7:20pm.
10/31/2009: Child’s medical check, visa photo, and visa paperwork
11/1/2009: Tour Guangzhou
11/2/2009: Medical again (tuberculosis results)
11/3/2009: Consulate Appointment.
11/4/2009: Bus to the USC to recite group oath
11/5/2009: Pick up our daughter’s visa in the afternoon. Fly to Beijing, 7:00pm-10:00 pm. Take the shuttle to the Beijing Airport Hotel.
11/6/2009: Take hotel shuttle to the airport. Fly back to the States--brief layover in Tokyo; then home!
11/7/2009-11/7/2010: SLEEP!!!!!!!!
Happy Birthday!!!
Today we celebrated Ethan and Jesse's birthdays! Ethan will be 6 on Wednesday, and Jesse will be 4 on November 7th. We had such a good time! The kids had fun doing a "treasure hunt" and smashing the pinata. And the boys were given lots of fun gifts. It was a very special day. Their actual birthdays will be a little different. Ethan will spend his on an airplane, and Jesse will spend his recovering from jet-lag and a trip across the world. But today was all fun!
After the party Stephanie and Amy and I had a little planning conference, to make sure we're all set for China. We're all so excited! And I'm so glad they're coming with us! Afterwards all the family that was here prayed with us for the trip. It was a very special time, and it is so comforting and humbling to know that we are covered in prayer from so many people. Whether near or far, we are so thankful for all of you that pray for us. My biggest concerns right now are that we would not be quarrantined (China's reaction to the swineflu is to quarrantine many people coming in on international flights), and that we would be able to handle Tabitha's catheter without trouble. Other than that I am totally at peace about everything and looking forward to this trip so much! Another prayer request to add would be Stephanie's back. She's pulled it twice this week. The chiropractor seems to be able to fix it for her, but just pray that nothing else happens so that she won't be in pain during the trip.
It's hard to believe that Ethan has almost completed 6 years of life already. And Jesse--my "baby"--is almost 4, and about to become a big brother. Time just flies by so fast. Too fast sometimes. On days that I'm struggling to enjoy motherhood, a phrase shared by an experienced mom reminds me to savor every minute: "The hours go slowly, but the years go fast." And if you've ever heard the country song, "You're gonna miss this," you'll understand why it always makes me get teary-eyed. Though some days I want to throw in the towel and I just long for an hour to myself, my children are growing up so fast. I want to savor every minute of their precious lives. I am so blessed to be a mom . . . twice . . . almost three times. What an amazing gift! I love you, kids! Happy Birthday, Ethan & Jesse!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Time is Flying!
I can't believe how fast time is going by! A week from now we'll be packing up the van and trying (most likely in vain) to get some sleep, the last night in our own bed.
We got our confirmed travel dates about a week ago. Friday we (Ethan, Jesse, Stephanie (mom-in-law), and I) went to the Baltimore zoo with the homeschool group. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time!
Sunday we enjoyed a Dino concert at a local church. I remember going to his piano concert when I was a kid, so it was fun to see him again now that I'm older and appreciate all the work that goes into playing the piano.
Monday my friend Dana offered to watch the boys for me while I did some trip-prepping. Two of her sons are my piano students, and she has boys about the same age as Ethan and Jesse, and they play together really well. So I got to go shopping BY MYSELF!!! Yes, I guess that doesn't say much about my social life when the highlight of my week is going shopping by myself. But it was such a blessing. I bought out Walmart of all their individually-packaged snacks. I never waste money on that stuff normally...but for travelling I went all out. We've got plenty of comfort food to get us through two long flights and 2 and 1/2 long weeks. We plan to eat plenty of Chinese food of course, but sometimes red-bean ice cream just doesn't cut it as a snack.
I also bought all the precautionary medicines, just in case we should need them. But I realized tonight I still need some chewable tylenol for the kids, because the liquid is a 4 oz bottle, thus we cannot carry it on, thus we cannot take it to ensure no elevated temperatures, thus we risk being quarrantined for swineflu, thus I must return to the store and get the all-important chewable fever reducer.
I also bought all the "gifts" for the various people. In China it's customary to give a small gift to the nannies, orphanage director, etc. So I had to look for things that weren't too expensive, weren't breakable, and weren't made in China. Not an easy task! But I did successfully complete all the shopping, thanks to Dana, and it is quite a relief. (I do still need to go grocery shopping though. We are almost literally out of food. But I digress . . . )
Today the boys went to Mom's while I had a piano teacher's meeting. I'm not even teaching this semester, but it's always good to keep learning. After that I've spent the rest of the day preparing for the trip. 3 phone calls to schedule doctor's appointments, trying to stop our mail and transfer money out of savings but having internet problems, and packing away all that food I bought! I've got two suitcases basically full, and I haven't even started on our clothes yet. That's just gifts, food, toys for the plane, and Tabitha's stuff. Speaking of toys for the plane, I'm very proud of myself for this . . . I've been gathering things over the last several months. I've got them in separate bags, which I'll give to the boys at certain times. So it'll be like opening a present every couple hours, and HOPEFULLY it'll prevent boredom and the whining and fighting that go along with it. We hope so anyway!
We also got an unexpected blessing today. I had requested some clothes for Ethan that someone posted on freecycle last week. I didn't get a response so I figured they were gone. But today the person said they were still available, so I picked up two bags full of clothes for him! And it's great stuff that he can use now, plus some things for next year. God is good, and I love it when He just drops these little blessings on us. Sometimes I overlook all the huge blessings going on around me, and it takes something little to remind me of God's detailed care for us.
So, that's a summary of our last few days. The next few will be even more busy I'm sure. . . Only a week to go!
We got our confirmed travel dates about a week ago. Friday we (Ethan, Jesse, Stephanie (mom-in-law), and I) went to the Baltimore zoo with the homeschool group. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time!
Sunday we enjoyed a Dino concert at a local church. I remember going to his piano concert when I was a kid, so it was fun to see him again now that I'm older and appreciate all the work that goes into playing the piano.
Monday my friend Dana offered to watch the boys for me while I did some trip-prepping. Two of her sons are my piano students, and she has boys about the same age as Ethan and Jesse, and they play together really well. So I got to go shopping BY MYSELF!!! Yes, I guess that doesn't say much about my social life when the highlight of my week is going shopping by myself. But it was such a blessing. I bought out Walmart of all their individually-packaged snacks. I never waste money on that stuff normally...but for travelling I went all out. We've got plenty of comfort food to get us through two long flights and 2 and 1/2 long weeks. We plan to eat plenty of Chinese food of course, but sometimes red-bean ice cream just doesn't cut it as a snack.
I also bought all the precautionary medicines, just in case we should need them. But I realized tonight I still need some chewable tylenol for the kids, because the liquid is a 4 oz bottle, thus we cannot carry it on, thus we cannot take it to ensure no elevated temperatures, thus we risk being quarrantined for swineflu, thus I must return to the store and get the all-important chewable fever reducer.
I also bought all the "gifts" for the various people. In China it's customary to give a small gift to the nannies, orphanage director, etc. So I had to look for things that weren't too expensive, weren't breakable, and weren't made in China. Not an easy task! But I did successfully complete all the shopping, thanks to Dana, and it is quite a relief. (I do still need to go grocery shopping though. We are almost literally out of food. But I digress . . . )
Today the boys went to Mom's while I had a piano teacher's meeting. I'm not even teaching this semester, but it's always good to keep learning. After that I've spent the rest of the day preparing for the trip. 3 phone calls to schedule doctor's appointments, trying to stop our mail and transfer money out of savings but having internet problems, and packing away all that food I bought! I've got two suitcases basically full, and I haven't even started on our clothes yet. That's just gifts, food, toys for the plane, and Tabitha's stuff. Speaking of toys for the plane, I'm very proud of myself for this . . . I've been gathering things over the last several months. I've got them in separate bags, which I'll give to the boys at certain times. So it'll be like opening a present every couple hours, and HOPEFULLY it'll prevent boredom and the whining and fighting that go along with it. We hope so anyway!
We also got an unexpected blessing today. I had requested some clothes for Ethan that someone posted on freecycle last week. I didn't get a response so I figured they were gone. But today the person said they were still available, so I picked up two bags full of clothes for him! And it's great stuff that he can use now, plus some things for next year. God is good, and I love it when He just drops these little blessings on us. Sometimes I overlook all the huge blessings going on around me, and it takes something little to remind me of God's detailed care for us.
So, that's a summary of our last few days. The next few will be even more busy I'm sure. . . Only a week to go!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Countdown to China!
We are thrilled to announce that we will be leaving for China October 21st!!! It has been a long wait (see the ticker to the left), but the time is finally here. We are so excited, and appreciate all the prayer and support from so many of you! Here's an updated list of specific things to pray about:
For the Adoption Process
-Past. Thank God for carrying us through this long process! Everything has finally worked out, and we’re ready to go! Thank God for his provision financially.
-Future. Pray that no unexpected issues arise that would complicate things in China.
For Tabitha
-Current care. Thank God that she is receiving excellent care and that the caretakers have told her about us and shown her our pictures. Pray for her to have peace as she is transitioned back to her original province for the adoption processing, and then to our family.
-Medical needs. Please pray that things go smoothly during our stay with her in China—that we receive adequate training for dealing with her catheter and that there are no complications while we are there. Also pray for our peace and comfort in being suddenly confronted with special medical needs we’ve never dealt with before.
-Adjustment. She’s already lost her birth parents, she’s lived in two orphanages, she’s been hospitalized, and she’s about to leave everything she’s familiar with and go with complete strangers who don’t speak her language, to a land that looks, smells, tastes, feels, and sounds very different. At 2½ she’s definitely old enough to be affected by these changes. Pray that she quickly bonds with us and soon feels at home in her new family and country. Pray for wisdom and patience for all of us as we help her through the transition.
For The Trip
-Travel Arrangements. Thank the Lord that we are able to bring Ethan and Jesse, as well as Stephanie (Heath’s mom) and Amy (Heath’s cousin). Pray that the children behave, especially on the plane, and that the rest of us are also pleasant to be with.
-Safety/Health. Thank the Lord that we are all in good health overall, and we were able to get travel immunizations. Pray that no one gets sick or injured while we’re traveling. Pray that we’ll have no problems with swineflu or tuberculosis issues.
-Attitudes. Pray especially for us adults to maintain Christ-like attitudes despite any challenges. Even if everything goes well, international travel, with children, for an adoption, is enough to make for a challenging time. Pray that we would be patient and flexible, as things in China don’t tend to run as efficiently or on time as they do here in the States. Pray that no matter how well or how poorly things go, we will all have a go-with-the-flow attitude, and choose a joyful heart no matter what.
Coming Home
-Adjustment. Pray that Tabitha bonds to us quickly and feels at home. Pray that we can quickly adjust to having a brand-new toddler in the house. Pray that she learns English quickly. Thank God for the awesome privilege of providing a home and family for one of His precious children.
-Siblings. Ethan and Jesse are very excited to have a little sister. Thank God for giving them this privilege, and pray that they will welcome her easily and treat her well. Pray also that they won’t be overlooked in all the extra care that she’ll need.
-Medical Needs. Pray for peace and guidance during the medical procedures Tabitha will need. Pray that her need for a catheter will not be permanent.
-Homeschooling. Our first year of homeschooling has gotten off to a good start. Pray that we’re able to get back into the swing of things quickly and continue to be productive with a new little one in the house.
-Our House/Land. We’re still hoping to sell our house and start building on our new land as soon as possible. Pray for wisdom and for the Lord to work this out in His timing, especially with just going through the huge event of adoption.
For the Adoption Process
-Past. Thank God for carrying us through this long process! Everything has finally worked out, and we’re ready to go! Thank God for his provision financially.
-Future. Pray that no unexpected issues arise that would complicate things in China.
For Tabitha
-Current care. Thank God that she is receiving excellent care and that the caretakers have told her about us and shown her our pictures. Pray for her to have peace as she is transitioned back to her original province for the adoption processing, and then to our family.
-Medical needs. Please pray that things go smoothly during our stay with her in China—that we receive adequate training for dealing with her catheter and that there are no complications while we are there. Also pray for our peace and comfort in being suddenly confronted with special medical needs we’ve never dealt with before.
-Adjustment. She’s already lost her birth parents, she’s lived in two orphanages, she’s been hospitalized, and she’s about to leave everything she’s familiar with and go with complete strangers who don’t speak her language, to a land that looks, smells, tastes, feels, and sounds very different. At 2½ she’s definitely old enough to be affected by these changes. Pray that she quickly bonds with us and soon feels at home in her new family and country. Pray for wisdom and patience for all of us as we help her through the transition.
For The Trip
-Travel Arrangements. Thank the Lord that we are able to bring Ethan and Jesse, as well as Stephanie (Heath’s mom) and Amy (Heath’s cousin). Pray that the children behave, especially on the plane, and that the rest of us are also pleasant to be with.
-Safety/Health. Thank the Lord that we are all in good health overall, and we were able to get travel immunizations. Pray that no one gets sick or injured while we’re traveling. Pray that we’ll have no problems with swineflu or tuberculosis issues.
-Attitudes. Pray especially for us adults to maintain Christ-like attitudes despite any challenges. Even if everything goes well, international travel, with children, for an adoption, is enough to make for a challenging time. Pray that we would be patient and flexible, as things in China don’t tend to run as efficiently or on time as they do here in the States. Pray that no matter how well or how poorly things go, we will all have a go-with-the-flow attitude, and choose a joyful heart no matter what.
Coming Home
-Adjustment. Pray that Tabitha bonds to us quickly and feels at home. Pray that we can quickly adjust to having a brand-new toddler in the house. Pray that she learns English quickly. Thank God for the awesome privilege of providing a home and family for one of His precious children.
-Siblings. Ethan and Jesse are very excited to have a little sister. Thank God for giving them this privilege, and pray that they will welcome her easily and treat her well. Pray also that they won’t be overlooked in all the extra care that she’ll need.
-Medical Needs. Pray for peace and guidance during the medical procedures Tabitha will need. Pray that her need for a catheter will not be permanent.
-Homeschooling. Our first year of homeschooling has gotten off to a good start. Pray that we’re able to get back into the swing of things quickly and continue to be productive with a new little one in the house.
-Our House/Land. We’re still hoping to sell our house and start building on our new land as soon as possible. Pray for wisdom and for the Lord to work this out in His timing, especially with just going through the huge event of adoption.
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